Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten on Monday, acknowledged that their pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are under immense workload. With a busy schedule ahead of them, Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten has raised concerns about the workload that his fast bowlers have to deal with. Pakistan are enduring a particularly difficult time in red-ball cricket with as they crashed to a 2-0 defeat at home to Bangladesh.
Gary Kirsten, while commentating on Monday’s Champions One-Day Cup, shared an alarming insight regarding ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who according to him, bowled three times more than any other pacer in the world.
Pakistan’s Test Nightmare and Future Tour Program to add pressure to Shaheen Shah Afridi
Having failed to win their last four Test series at home, Pakistan’s entire cricket setup has come under fire from a number of former players. Their recent 2-0 defeat against Bangladesh marked many unwanted firsts. Bangladesh’s 10-wicket victory in the first Test was their first time beating Pakistan away from home in a red-ball match. It was also Bangladesh’s first 10-wicket win in any Test match. Their series win was their first against a team away from home other than the West Indies or Zimbabwe.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was not included in the Pakistan squad for the second Test in the series. Test coach Jason Gillespie said that Shaheen Shah Afridi did not fit into the best combination that they had worked out for the second match. Notably, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are one of the few players, who are regular parts of the Pakistan team across formats.
Gary Kirsten, Pakistan’s white-ball head coach, has claimed that premier pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is the most overworked fast bowler in the world. Ever since making his debut in 2018, the southpaw is Pakistan’s best bowler across the formats. Such was the reliability on him that despite being injured, he was deciding to continue bowling in the 2022 T20 World Cup Final.
When he finally returned after rehab, Shaheen Shah Afridi looked a shadow of himself. For months, his speed wasn’t what it used to be. From consistently hitting 140s, he was now bowling at around 125-130 kms. He was clearly not at his best yet the pacer continued to play. Why, nobody knew.
However, the South African coach is wrong. Shaheen Shah Afridi has bowled 608.5 overs in the last 18 months; this is certainly the most for any Pakistan fast bowler, but Australian ODI and Test captain, Pat Cummins, has bowled more overs than Shaheen Shah Afridi. Naseem Shah, his partner in crime, has bowled just 383 overs, primarily because he was injured for about six months.
They are set to host England and West Indies at home in Test matches before the 2025 Champions Trophy. Sandwiched in this schedule is also a red-ball tour of South Africa and a limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe and Australia.
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah’s tryst with injuries.
Both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah have sustained severe injuries in the past, resulting in them missing out on major tournaments like ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2022 and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Remember, Shaheen sustained a knee injury amid Pakistan’s first Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka in 2022, which resulted in him missing the second match of the series and the first two ODIs against the Netherlands. The left-arm pacer then ruled out of the Asia Cup as his injury worsened.
On the other hand, Naseem Shah sustained an injury to his right shoulder in the blockbuster Asia Cup 2023 clash between arch-rivals Pakistan and India. The right-arm pacer walked off the field in the 46th over of India’s innings and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament remainder.
Naseem sustained a much worse injury to his right shoulder than was suspected by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the severity of the injury was such that the young pacer got ruled out of the World Cup. Pakistan’s white ball coach Gary Kirsten insisted workload management for this pace duo ahead of the grueling season ahead of the most coveted ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Gary Kirsten concerned over ‘alarming’ workload of Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan’s white-ball coach Gary Kirsten has raised workload concerns for Shaheen Shah Afridi as a host of Test matches and the 2025 Champions Trophy looms. The former Team India head coach observed that the youngster has sent down three times more overs than any other pacer in the last 18 months.
Pakistan have quite a busy schedule leading up to March as they will play Tests at home against England and the West Indies. Sandwiched between them is an away red-ball series against South Africa and the limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe and Australia.
The Men in Green are scheduled to play a tri-nation series, involving New Zealand and South Africa at home and the Champions Trophy in February 2025. It all culminates in March with a five-game T20I series in March 2025.
Speaking to reporters, Kirsten warned that the youngster risks burning out if his workload is this high over a period of time. As quoted by cricketpakistan.pk, he said:
“Fast bowlers are always under immense pressure to deliver and win games. When we look at our key resources, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have carried the bulk of the workload for Pakistan across all formats.
“Shaheen has bowled three times more overs than any other fast bowler in the world over the last 18 months. That’s alarming — you’re bound to wear him down eventually.”
The 24-year-old’s recent performances have taken a hit and he was quite ineffective during the Test series at home against Bangladesh. He only played in the opening Test and had figures of 32-0-96-2 and had been left out of the second game
Shaheen Shah Afridi is currently captaining the Lions in the Champions One-day Cup
Meanwhile, the left-arm speedster is currently playing for the Lions in the Champions One-day Cup alongside the country’s top cricketers. The Lions are yet to win a game, having lost both to the Panthers and the Stallions.
Nevertheless, the former Pakistan T20I skipper has delivered promising performances so far, taking five wickets in two matches at 24 apiece. Kirsten isn’t wrong that Shaheen is overworked and his workload should be managed, but the statistics he’s presenting are false. That also shows that Shaheen wasn’t dropped for the Pakistan vs Bangladesh 2nd Test but rather rested. His comments also suggest that the left-arm pacer won’t play as much as before, with the management doing everything to take care of the pace.