Shaheen Afridi unfazed by ‘negative news’; focuses on performance

An Afridi is never away from controversy in Pakistan cricket. After Shahid Afridi had his share of headlines for the right and wrong reasons, it is time for another Afridi — Shaheen Shah. The 19-year-old, who made a record in his last outing for Pakistan against Bangladesh in the World Cup in England by taking a six-wicket haul, has recently been accused of masturbating while on a video call with Pakistan’s TikTok star Hareem Shah.

The video was leaked on Twitter and went viral although Hareem later clarified that she is only on Instagram and TikTok and all other accounts by her name on other social media platforms are fake. On Sunday, Shaheen said he was not paying any attention to the “negative news” about him and concentrated more on cricket.

“Off the field, the negative news keeps on coming. I try not to pay any attention to it,” Geo News quoted the left-arm fast bowler as saying in an open media session in Lahore. Shaheen said this while responding to a question as to what extent a player can be affected when facing a backlash on social media. He said his priority is doing well on the ground since there is a serious competition for places in the fast bowling department.

Shaheen Afridi picked for Test series against Australia

Shaheen is set to make his international comeback as he has been picked for the Pakistan squad for the upcoming two-Test series in Australia starting November 21.

“I am now completely fit. I have also played a first-class match that improved my match fitness. Right now I have no fitness issues. To regain fitness I bowled 113 overs,” he said. He recently played in a high-scoring drawn game in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Sialkot where he took two wickets for 119 runs for Northern against Southern Punjab.

It was a comeback game for the bowler who was down with dengue following a hamstring injury. Shaheen made his debut for Pakistan across all formats last year and so far, has featured in three Tests, 19 ODIs and 10 T20Is in which he has taken 66 wickets with one five-wicket haul that came in the World Cup.

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