"I am one wicket away from a century of Test wickets" - Shaheen Shah Afridi excited ahead of red-ball return
Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has expressed his excitement ahead of his Test return. With the left-arm speedster set to play his first Test since July 2022, Afridi recently stated that he thoroughly enjoys red-ball cricket.
Due to his knee injury in the first Test at Galle last year, Afridi missed several months of action and returned only during the 2022 T20 World Cup. The youngster suffered another knee injury during the T20 World Cup final and spent another brief period on the sidelines.
Speaking to PCB Digital, Afridi claimed that he was excited to be back in whites for Pakistan and remembered being one shy of 100 wickets in Tests.
"I am very excited to be making my Test comeback in the country where I was injured," he said. "Injuries are part of an athlete’s life, but it is good to be back. I enjoy red-ball cricket a lot, and I am one wicket away from a century of Test wickets, which would be a big achievement for me. It takes time to get used to red-ball cricket after playing white-ball."
The 23-year-old revealed that he practiced quite a lot with the red ball during his Vitality Blast stint in the United Kingdom to meet the workload.
"But the Karachi camp proved beneficial for me. Test cricket demands patience and you have to work in partnerships with fellow bowlers. Over the last year, I have played more white-ball matches, but when I was playing in the United Kingdom, I bowled extra overs after matches – even with the red ball – to meet the desired workload."
His form in the 2023 Vitality Blast bodes well for Pakistan ahead of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, beginning on July 16. In 14 matches for Nottinghamshire, he picked up 22 wickets, including four in the first over against Birmingham Bears.
"I will be making my Test return at the same ground where I was injured" Shaheen Afridi
Afridi further said that Pakistan was eager to make the final of the upcoming cycle of the World Test Championship count after missing out on the previous two. He added:
"It seems like yesterday when I was injured. I will be making my Test return at the same ground where I was injured. I was talking to our physiotherapist about it. It is a matter of pride to represent Pakistan in any format, and I enjoy playing for Pakistan," he said.
"I hope we will have a good beginning to this cycle of the World Test Championship, and we will qualify for the final, something we have missed in the last two iterations," he added.
Babar Azam and Co. finished 5th and 7th in the last two WTC cycles, respectively.