Star fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was a major player to be excluded from the test team as Pakistan are set to travel to South Africa to take part in a full-fledged tour comprising of three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches. They have named the squads for all the three series, Even though Shaheen Afridi has been included in the squads for both the white-ball series, his exclusion from the Test squad raises major questions.
Pakistan selector and interim white-ball coach Aqib Javed has finally explained why the superstar fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is not part of the squad for the series.
Shaheen Afridi dropped from the 2 match test series vs South Africa
Shaheen Afridi has been left out of Pakistan’s squad for the two-Test series in South Africa in December and January. Shaheen Afridi, who was released from Pakistan’s Test side after their defeat in the first Test against England in October, remains part of the white-ball squads for the tour. Babar Azam and Naseem Shah, who were released alongside Shaheen Afridi after that first Test, return to the Test squad.
Shaheen Afridi’s absence specifically from the Tests, though, appears to signal a point in his career where the red-ball format has become less of a priority than it has before, a state that may even become permanent for him. When he was dropped in October, the belief was that the more pace-friendly surfaces in South Africa, where he played his second and third Test matches five years earlier, would suit him better as he tries to return to form in the format.
Since returning from a knee injury he picked up during a Test in Sri Lanka in July 2022, Shaheen Afridi has played just a handful of Tests, and been ineffective while doing so; in six games, he has 17 wickets at an average of 45.47. Shaheen Afridi’s omission from these Tests makes it exceedingly unlikely he will win his place back for Pakistan’s home Test series against West Indies in January, following which Pakistan have no Test matches at all till October 2025.
According to Aqib Javed, Shaheen Afridi’s exclusion for the Test squad is a strategic decision. This has been taken to ensure that the start pacer remains physically and mentally fit for the Champions Trophy 2025 which is scheduled to begin on February 9. But former cricketer Basit Ali disagrees the same and makes a shocking statement behind the reason of Shaheen Afridi’s exclusion from the test series.
Basit Ali & Aaqib Javed’s contrasting statements on Shaheen Afridi
Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has made a shocking claim that Shaheen Afridi has been dropped from the Test side for the series against South Africa due to a viral video. He was referring to the clip from Pakistan’s first Test against Bangladesh in which Afridi was seen removing captain Shan Masood’s hand from his shoulder during a team huddle.
While former skipper Babar Azam and young pacer Naseem Shah were picked in the Test squad for the forthcoming multi-format tour of South Africa, there was no place for Afridi in the red-ball squad.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former Pakistan batter Basit criticized the decision of not picking the senior left-arm pacer in the Test team. He also alleged the reason for him being sacked was a non-cricketing one.
“Shaheen Afridi was asked to bowl on dead pitches, and he couldn’t perform so what about Naseem Shah’s performance? In the ODI series that Pakistan won against Australia, what did Naseem Shah do? I will tell you why Shaheen was removed. You must remember a video where Shan put a hand on Shaheen’s shoulder, and he removed it,” Basit was quoted as saying by ANI.
Back in September, Masood has dismissed rumors of a rift with Afridi. Reacting to the controversy over the viral video, he clarified that the fast bowler politely removed his hand from his shoulder as it was sore after he was hit by a ball while batting in Pakistan’s innings.
In an official statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Aqib Javed, a member of the selection committee and interim white-ball head coach, explained the decision to leave Afridi from the Test squad. He commented:
“Shaheen Shah Afridi’s exclusion from the Test squad is a strategic decision to ensure he remains physically and mentally fresh for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Similarly, Fakhar Zaman was not considered as he is yet to regain form and match fitness.”
“Our aim is to maintain consistency in ODI selections as part of our ICC Champions Trophy 2025 preparations, while also giving emerging talent opportunities in T20Is alongside experienced players. For Tests, we have focused on assembling a squad that can adapt to challenging conditions and consistently compete at the highest level,” the former pacer added.
Pakistan play three T20Is and three ODIs in South Africa between December 10 and 22, and two Test matches in Centurion and Cape Town beginning on December 26 and January 7. South Africa is, statistically, Pakistan’s least happy hunting ground in Test cricket, where they have won just two Test matches, and never a Test series.