Imran Khan and Wasim Akram used to bowl more overs than Shaheen Afridi in the nets alone: Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar, the former Pakistan fast bowler, feels that Shaheen Afridi’s workload management at the highest level shouldn’t be a point of concern for the time being. Shaheen was a part of the T20I and Test series against Zimbabwe, but he was rested for the white-ball format.

In the Test series, he picked up 10 wickets with best figures of five for 52 in the second match at the Harare Sports Club. Akhtar said that Shaheen’s workload shouldn’t be a problem since the likes of Imran Khan and Wasim Akram bowled more than the southpaw in the nets.

Is Shaheen Afridi tired already? Shoaib Akhtar

“He [Shaheen] would have bowled around 90 overs in his T20I career so far. In his last eight Test matches, he would have bowled around 150 overs. Is he tired already? Is it too much workload? Stop bringing workload concerns again and again with regards to Shaheen Afridi.

“Imran Khan and Wasim Akram used to bowl more overs than him in the nets alone,” Akhtar was quoted as saying in a local TV channel, quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

Earlier, Junaid Khan, the veteran Pakistan paceman, stated that Shaheen doesn’t want to take a rest as he fears losing his place to a young player.

“Shaheen definitely needs rest. The management needs to make sure he doesn’t bowl a lot during the net sessions. Shaheen probably doesn’t want to rest himself because he might have fear of losing his place to a youngster, who might perform in his place,” Khan said.

Shaheen came to the fore after the 2018 U19 World Cup in New Zealand. In the same year, he donned the national colours for the first time in his career. It didn’t take much time for him to foray into all three formats for the Pakistan team.

In 17 Tests, 25 ODIs and 25 T20Is, the left-arm fast bowler has picked up 58, 51 and 27 wickets respectively. He also has four five-wicket hauls and 10 four-fers to his name in his short career.

Apart from playing for Pakistan, Shaheen has also done well for the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League after making his debut in 2018.