Shaheen implies Australian speed guns could be faulty amid concerns about his low pace
Shaheen Afridi spoke about concerns on his low speeds during the Test series against Australia.
Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan's newly appointed T20I captain, expressed surprise at the speed measurements during the recent Test series in Australia. Pakistan experienced a clean sweep in the three-match Test series against Australia, grappling with injuries that impacted their preferred bowling lineup. Critical players like Abrar Ahmed, the primary Test spinner, were absent in all three games, and Naseem Shah, a key bowler, was not a part of the squad in Australia due to a shoulder injury.
Afridi was rested for the third Test in Sydney to manage his workload. The challenges faced in Australia have prompted the team to regroup as they prepare for a five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
"To be honest, when we were bowling, we were watching the board [big screen] ourselves," Afridi said. "'Are we really this [slow]?' We couldn't understand. We had been bowling since the start, putting in so much effort, yet the speeds were coming up to 132-133 [kph].
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"We were surprised and were thinking 'Has it been decided [by the broadcasters] that the speed gun won't go above this?'"
In the middle of the series, apprehensions arose about Afridi's fitness as the speed guns indicated that he and the other Pakistani seamers were bowling in the early to mid-130s. Waqar Younis proposed that Afridi consider taking a break from the game; otherwise, he may be transitioning into a medium pacer.
"If he's not fit, if he's got some issues, I think he needs to go away from the game and fix that. If you're just going to carry on like that, then you are going to become a medium pacer. He used to bowl 145, 150 [kph] all days and bowl really quickly and swing that ball. What I'm seeing right now, yeah there's a little bit of swing there, but his pace is way down," Younis told ESPNCricinfo before the second Test in Melbourne.
Afridi concluded the series with eight wickets from two matches, maintaining an average of 41.62. Aamer Jamal, making his debut in the series, emerged as the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan, securing 18 wickets from three games at an average of 20.44.
The inaugural T20I for Pakistan against New Zealand is scheduled for January 12 in Auckland.
