‘Induction of players takes place after assessing workload management’ – PCB chief selector Haroon Rasheed opens up on Shaheen Afridi’s Test comeback

Shaheen Afridi. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan’s pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi is on his way to making a noteworthy comeback to Test cricket and is eyeing the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka slated to begin on July 16 to resume his services for Pakistan in the red-ball format.

2022 was a topsy-turvy ride for Shaheen. He picked up a knee ligament injury in July last year and had to miss out on participation in the Asia Cup that took place in the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan made it to the finals of the continental event in the absence of their star pacer but lost to the Dasun Shanaka-led side by 23 runs.

Shaheen was in a race against time to regain full fitness ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia and underwent a rigorous fitness regime to ensure the same. Pakistan hosted England at home in a seven-match T20I series and Shaheen couldn’t feature in a single contest for the Green Brigade.

He was declared fit for the T20 World Cup in time and finished as the leading wicket-taker for the 2009 T20 World Champions in the tournament. He picked up 11 wickets in seven games at an impressive economy of 6.15. Unfortunately for him, the injury resurfaced while he dived to attempt a catch in the summit clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

He couldn’t play much cricket after that and was a bit short on enough match practice leading into Pakistan Super League 2023. He led his team Lahore Qalandars from the front and helped them win the season. Shaheen bagged 19 wickets in the 12 games that he played during the edition.

Now, with a Test comeback in sight, Shaheen might have to toil hard on the placid surfaces in Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s chief selector Haroon Rasheed also opened up on how the 23-year-old pacer needs more game time after coming back from injury.

“Before we take any kind of decision regarding workload, we have a whole medical panel for that, and then a player’s personal choice is also taken into consideration. Shaheen has been unfit for the last one and a half years, so when a player comes back from injury, he needs more cricket in terms of active cricket, not nets. In nets, you can come and simply bowl. However, match fitness is different,” Rasheed said to Cricket Pakistan.

“We have also requested the county to let Shaheen play a three-day match, so that he will get more overs to bowl. After taking all these factors into consideration, we reached a unified decision regarding his inclusion in the squad. We have done everything after thorough research, which doesn’t mean we don’t consider workload. Induction of players takes place after assessing workload management in detail,” he concluded.