Tag: Shaheen Afridi

DUBAI: Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has replaced his Indian counterpart Jasprit Bumrah in the updated International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Bowling Rankings to claim the third rank.

Left-arm pacer Shaheen continued his march in the Test bowling charts as he claimed his career-best third spot in the longest format of the game.

Shaheen, who dazzled in the first Test of the ongoing two-match series against Sri Lanka by taking four wickets for 79 runs, has been rewarded for his outstanding bowling performance as he has moved up to replace Indian pacer Bumrah.

Australia’s Test captain and right-arm pacer Pat Cummins still dominates the charts with 891 rating points, followed by Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

It is important to note that Shaheen’s absence from the second Test due to a knee injury could make it difficult for the left-arm pacer to hold onto third place, as his lead over Bumrah is only eight rating points.

READ: Babar Azam rises to third in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings 

GALLE: Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq confirmed the unavailability of the ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for the second Test against Sri Lanka, while also acknowledging that the touring side will miss the left-arm pacer.

Saqlain, while talking to the media here ahead of the second ODI, asserted that the touring bowlers will miss the services of the left-arm pacer as he guides them throughout in the games.

“No doubt, our bowlers will miss Shaheen in the second Test. He is our main bowler and he guides his fellowmen as well. Definitely, the bowlers will miss his presence as he brings in a lot of charisma to the unit,” Saqlain stated.

The national head coach then remained reluctant to the changes for the second Test except for the replacement of injured Afridi, while emphasizing that the final playing XI will be decided after analyzing the pitch.

“We have looked at the pitch but nothing is decided as of yet. Obviously, Shaheen’s replacement is there but apart from this, we will sit and decide before announcing the final XI,” said Saqlain.

“Our players showed great determination, potential and execution of plans to win the last game. From Abdullah Shafique to tail-ender Naseem Shah and then Hassan Ali, Yasir Shah and others, everyone fought hard to achieve a well-deserved victory,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that ace pacer Shaheen sustained a gruelling knee injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka, which resulted in his exclusion from the second Test. According to the sources, Nauman Ali will receive a call-up in the playing XI as Shaheen’s replacement.

READ: Bowlers star as England crush South Africa in a rain-affected second ODI

GALLE: Pakistan’s fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi underwent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) after he sustained a leg strain during the first Test against Sri Lanka, here on Tuesday. 

According to the details, the team management decided to take Shaheen for an MRI after he continued to experience pain despite receiving ice treatment.

The team management is currently awaiting the MRI reports before deciding whether or not to rest the star bowler for the next Test against Sri Lanka.

Shaheen was taken off the field as he suffered a leg strain while fielding during the third day of the ongoing first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The left-arm pacer bowled just seven during the second innings before he left the field following the discomfort. Meanwhile, he took four wickets in the first innings for Pakistan.

READ: ECP delegation set to visit National Stadium today for security review

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Police on Monday appointed the left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as the honorary officer.

In a high-profile ceremony, the KPK Police chief Muazzam Khan heaped praises on the left-arm pacer before announcing him as the goodwill ambassador of the provincial law-enforcement agency.

Following the honorary achievement, Shaheen thanked the police and lauded them for their services in safeguarding the citizens.

“I have links with police as my father served as a policeman and my brother is an active policeman,” Shaheen said.

“Police officers and all security officials are the real heroes of our country. They deserve all the respect and honour,” he added.

Besides Shaheen who attended the ceremony donning the police uniform, the left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman was also present at the occasion.

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LAHORE: Skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi have been offered category A in both red and white-ball contracts as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced central contracts for 33 players for the year 2022-23.

Pakistan national team Chief selector Muhammad Wasim, speaking at a scheduled press conference held here today to announce the central contract for players, stated that the contracts have been offered to players on the basis of their fitness and last year’s performance.

According to details, 10 players have received red-ball contracts, while 11 players have received white-ball contracts, along with Imam-ul-Haq, Hassan Ali, Babar, Rizwan, and Shaheen, who have been offered both contracts.

Meanwhile, seven high-performing domestic players have also been offered central contracts under the emerging category.

MEN’S CENTRAL CONTRACT LIST 2022-23 

Red and White-ball Contracts (5):

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (all Category A), Hasan Ali (red-ball Category B, white-ball Category C), and Imam-ul-Haq (red-ball Category C, white-ball Category B)

Red ball Contracts (10):

Category A – Azhar Ali

Category B – Fawad Alam

Category C – Abdullah Shafique, Naseem Shah, and Nauman Ali

Category D – Abid Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, and Yasir Shah

White-ball Contracts (11):

Category A – Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan

Category B – Haris Rauf

Category C – Mohammad Nawaz

Category D – Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir and Zahid Mehmood

Emerging Contracts (7):

Ali Usman (Southern Punjab), Haseebullah (Balochistan), Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Haris (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Huraira (Northern), Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) and Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab).

READ: Shaheen rises to third spot in the latest ICC ODI Bowling Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi continued his march upwards in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings as he claimed his career-best third spot in the latest rankings, released on Monday.

The absence of England’s right-arm seamer Chris Woakes from the recent ODI series against the Netherlands has resulted in him dropping down two spots in the bowling rankings.

Following his demotion, New Zealand’s Matt Henry and Shaheen both jumped a place up to claim the second and third spot respectively.

New Zealand left-arm pacer Trent Boult, on the other hand, continued his dominance in the ODIs as he still leads the bowling charts with 726 rating points, while Henry and Shaheen have 683 and 681 points respectively.

In Tests, however, the Pakistan speedster currently holds the fourth spot.

READ: Pakistan beat Indonesia to win International Girls Netball series 2022

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi on Wednesday met with former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan here in Islamabad, ARY News reported.

The Pakistan pace sensation Afridi met with PTI chief Khan at the latter’s Bani Gala residence.

During the meeting, matters related to cricket and the promotion of sports in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were discussed. The PTI chief also lauded the performance of the national team in the ODI series against the West Indies.

KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also attended the meeting.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s ace pace bowler, Shaheen Afridi has moved up to the fourth spot in the latest ICC Bowlings rankings for ODIs and Tests.

New Zealand pacer, Kyle Jamieson moved down from the third spot to the sixth spot which has resulted in Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Afridi and Kagiso Rabada climbing one spot.

READ: Patel, Chahal shine as India blunt South Africa to keep the series alive

DUBAI: Following his consistent run in Test and ODI cricket, Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has claimed the fourth position in the latest bowling rankings of both formats announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC), here on Wednesday.

Shaheen has been elevated from fifth to the fourth spot in the latest Test rankings released by the ICC, as New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson slipped from third to sixth following a forgetful series with the ball for the pacer.

Shaheen has now occupied the fourth spot in Test rankings with 827 rating points as Jamieson’s ratings fell to 796; allowing the former to make a move upwards.

Australia’s Pat Cummins remained at the top of the Test bowlers’ rankings, followed by India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and the recently promoted pacer Jasprit Bumrah at the third.

In ODIs, however, Shaheen jumped two places up to claim his career-best fourth rank with 681 rating points.

New Zealand pacer Trent Boult, has retained the top spot, while Australia’s Josh Hazlewood improved a place to claim the second position.

READ: Imam surpasses Kohli, rises to second in ICC ODI Batting Rankings

LAHORE: Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has set his sight on becoming the best bowler of the upcoming home ODI series against the West Indies.

While speaking with the media here, Shaheen stated that his goal is to take as many wickets as possible in order to be named the series’ best bowler.

“I will try to be the best bowler of the series by getting the maximum number of wickets in the series,” he expressed.

“The weather is hot but we are looking forward to playing good cricket in it. It would be a tough challenge for the fast bowlers to bowl long spells in summer but as a professional, we are ready to face it,” he maintained.

Shaheen further opined on his participation in the County Championship and claimed his purpose was to gain valuable experience.

“The reason behind playing county cricket was to gain experience as it would help us when it comes to playing Test matches in England,” Shaheen claimed.

The left-arm pacer then termed the upcoming ODI series an important one for the Green Shirts as it is a part of the World Cup Super League.

“I don’t consider any team as weak. This series is important for us to qualify for the World Cup,” he said.

The pacer also shared his views on playing international cricket in Multan for the first time and termed the fans ‘very supportive’.

READ: ‘Indo-Pak cricketers want to play against each other’ claims Rizwan

LONDON: Australia’s middle-order batter and the captain of the Middlesex County Cricket Club Peter Handscomb heaped praises on the Pakistani left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, termed the latter as the No.1 bowler.

Handscomb, in an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, opined about the inclusion of Shaheen in the Middlesex camp and claimed that the left-arm pacer came in as the world’s No.1 bowler and lifted everyone’s spirit in the team.

“It does help [to have] Shaheen Afridi coming in as the No. 1 bowler in the world – that lifts everyone,” Handscomb said.

“He brings something different that we don’t have which is incredible,” he added.

It’s worth noting that Shaheen, who made his first-class debut at Lord’s, got two wickets in two balls for Middlesex against Leicestershire before Louis Kimber blocked down an inswinging yorker that would have given him his hat-trick.

In his side’s dominant ten-wicket victory against the visitors, Shaheen took six wickets – three in each innings.

READ: Jayawardene picks Shaheen, Rizwan in first five players in dream T20 XI