Pakistan’s premium pacer Shaheen Afridi has been left out of the playing XI for PAK vs BAN 2nd Test in Rawalpindi. Head coach Jason Gillespie made the announcement at a press conference ahead of the 2nd Test. The game is scheduled to commence from August 30 onwards.
Shaheen Afridi dropped or rested?
The pacer did not have a good outing in the 1st Test, managing to take only 2 wickets as Bangladesh handed Pakistan a historic defeat. Shan Masood and Gillespie made a huge blunder by going with an all-pace attack while the surface favoured the spinners on the last two days. This gave Bangladesh the upper hand as the visitors spun the hosts into misery.
“Shaheen’s missed out this game. We’ve had a good conversation with him, and he fully understands and appreciates the thinking behind it. Shaheen’s been given some feedback. He’s working on some things with his bowling to be as effective as he possibly can be. He’s working really well with Azhar Mahmood. We want to see Shaheen at his best because we’ve got a lot of cricket in all formats and Shaheen’s going to play a really big role in that. Shaheen’s had an interesting last couple of weeks He’s a new father. We’re seeing an opportunity where we’re able to allow him to go and spend some time with his family as well.” Gillespie explained.
Pakistan’s team for 2nd Test vs Bangladesh
Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Salman Ali Agha, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Naseem Shah, Mir Hamza