Afridi wants better workload management

KARACHI: During his entire international career, Shahid Afridi was a go-getter. Now in a new role as Pakistan’s chief selector, the former captain is in no mood to shift gears.

Just hours after getting appointed as interim chief selector, Afridi announced the addition of three players – pacers Shahnawaz Dahani and Mir Hamza and spinner Sajid Khan – to Pakistan’s squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand which begins from Monday (today).

And just a day after the appointment Afridi made it clear that he would be playing a role in the final team selection as well when he hinted that Mir Hamza could make his international debut in the first Test and wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed could replace Mohammad Rizwan.

“I’m aware that (fast bowler) Naseem Shah is not fully fit so it was good to add two fast bowlers to the squad. We’ve been carrying Shahnawaz Dahani for so many days, when will he get the opportunity. Also, when Shaheen (Shah Afridi) is not around, it was important to have a left-hander that’s why Mir Hamza was included,” Afridi told reporters on Sunday.

“And, Mir Hamza has been performing well, I think he deserves to play now,” he added.

Afridi believes Pakistan need to show better sense in managing the players’ workload.

“We have players who are constantly playing all formats. We need to strengthen our bench so that if one is rested there should be no problem, also we have some seniors who’ve been warming the bench for long, so let’s see. I am meeting Babar Azam tonight and we will discuss how to move,” he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has come under fire for preparing benign pitches for the first two Test against England in Rawalpindi and Multan. But playing aggressive cricket, England still romped to a 3-0 victory becoming the first touring side to whitewash Pakistan in a Test series on their home soil.

Afridi stressed that Pakistan will have to produce sporting wickets for home matches.

“We can surely prepare wickets like South Africa or Australia. Why should we keep on making same slow turn wickets every time, we have prepared good pitches in the past, we can do it again, we can’t become a top team if we continue to show this same old school mentality,” he said.