Pakistan speedster Shaheen Afridi faces possible consequences from the PCB after reports of his accused misconduct towards coaches. Thus, the left-arm speedster can be removed from the team for the forthcoming two-match Test series in opposition to Bangladesh.
Earlier reports indicated dissatisfaction among coaches and management regarding Afridi’s behavior, particularly following an incident involving assistant coach Azhar Mahmood. Further details from Cricket Pakistan shed light on another incident where Afridi clashed with a member of the coaching staff.
During the England tour preceding the 2024 T20 World Cup, Afridi was reportedly bowling no balls consistently during nets at Headingley. When batting coach Mohammad Yousuf pointed this out, Afridi allegedly responded bluntly, saying, “Let me practice for now and don’t talk in the middle.”
The exchange resulted in a heated confrontation between them, resulting in Afridi receiving a reprimand from the management. He was subsequently required to apologize in front of the entire team. However, no additional measures were taken by team managers, and the incident was deemed resolved.
Afridi has experienced a challenging year, starting with losing the T20I captaincy after leading for just one bilateral series. He blamed the PCB of creating quotes assigned to him and issuing them on the official website after Babar Azam’s re-hiring as captain.
Speculation has spread about a conflict among Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam before of the 2024 T20 World Cup. These tensions appeared over the tournament as Pakistan departed in the group stage, unable to move forward to the Super 8 stage.
PCB aims to test domestic talent for Bangladesh tour without Shaheen Afridi and other senior players
Besides Shaheen Afridi’s absence, Pakistan may also miss several other senior players for the upcoming Bangladesh tour. This series will be skipper Shan Masood’s debut overseas assignment and the first under new head coach Jason Gillespie.
PCB plans to use the two matches as an opportunity to test domestic talent. A training camp in Rawalpindi is scheduled in the coming weeks to prepare the squad for this assignment.
Pakistan’s red-ball series against Bangladesh, which is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, is set to commence on August 21.
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