Difficult to create separate Pakistan teams for different formats: Afridi
It is fast becoming a norm in international cricket
KARACHI: Legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi believes that it is difficult to form separate teams for Pakistan in white-ball and red-ball formats, which is fast becoming a norm in international cricket.
The former captain also believes that the Pakistan team should not be over-reliant on skipper Babar Azam and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
“It is difficult to make separate teams for both formats. We need to improve our bench strength. Proper bench strength will force players do well consistently,” Afridi said while speaking to media during a private event in Karachi.
“Pakistan team should not revolve around Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi only,” he added.
Afridi also believes that middle-order batter Fawad Alam “should have been part of the squad” for the upcoming three-match Test series against England.
Fawad was dropped after he managed just 33 runs in four innings of three Tests against Australia earlier this year, while he scored 25 runs in his only Test in Sri Lanka.
Despite scoring a century on his Test debut in 2009, Alam was dropped from the Pakistan side just two Tests later.
The left-hander made the long-awaited comeback in the national side, during Pakistan’s tour of England in 2020, after more than a decade on the sidelines.
The 37-year-old has scored 1011 runs in 19 Test matches at an average of 38.88 over the course of his career, with the help of five hundreds and two fifties.
The England team will arrive in Pakistan on November 27 for the much-anticipated tour, with the first Test set to begin on December 1 in Rawalpindi.
FIFA World Cup
The 45-year-old also shed light on the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
“My favourite teams in the FIFA World Cup are England and Germany,” he said. “Upsets have made the tournament interesting.”
Japan produced a stunning comeback to shock Germany in their World Cup opener on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, England made a scintillating start to their World Cup campaign as Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham inspired a 6-2 rout of outclassed Iran in Monday's Group B opener in Doha.
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