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Shaheen Afridi, the Pakistan fast bowler, who was recently not picked in the Test team on the tour to South Africa, remained silent about the matter after arriving in Dhaka to play the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024-25. When the journalists asked Shaheen Afridi a question about missing out on the Test tour to South Africa, he told them “sorry,” while deciding to not address the matter altogether before shifting their attention to the BPL.
As per the report from Cricbuzz, Shaheen Afridi was dropped from the Pakistan Test team for the two-match series against South Africa, which is currently underway with the first game at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. The failure to follow through the selector’s instruction to play a four-day game from Shaheen Afridi was interpreted as disobedience, following which the PCB decided to exclude him from the Pakistan Test team citing workload management.
Sorry for that, can we just question the Bangladesh league: Shaheen Afridi on Pakistan Test snub
After that, the PCB granted an NOC to Shaheen Afridi for taking part in the BPL, and upon his arrival in Bangladesh, he was questioned about the exclusion from Test series in South Africa, and his response read, “Sorry for that, can we just question the Bangladesh league. I am fit (to play across formats) and that's why I'm here (to play BPL).” He will be playing for Fortune Barishal in the 2024-25 season of the Bangladesh Premier League.
Shaheen Afridi shifted his attention to the T20s after his exclusion from the Pakistan Test team, and addressed the impending milestone of becoming the highest wicket-taker in the opening over in the shortest format of the game. He was quoted as saying, “Actually I'm not trying to break the records or make a record. I'm just simply trying to hit my right areas in T20 cricket. You know, T20 cricket's wicket is too good for batting and so just trying to mix up using my variation and just trying to hit my good areas.”
At the start of the year 2025, Shaheen Afridi is expected to play for Pakistan in the Champions Trophy at home in February-March, with an aim to prove his doubters wrong once again.
