"Imran Khan and Wasim Akram used to bowl more overs than Shaheen Afridi in the nets alone"- Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar believes Pakistan's team management does not need to worry about workload concerns regarding their fast bowler Shaheen Afridi.
Akhtar added that legends like Imran Khan and Wasim Akram were used to bowling more overs in the nets alone than what Afridi has bowled in recent times.
Shaheen Afridi recently played both the Test matches against Zimbabwe. Many experts, including former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, have urged team management to rest the left-arm seamer, given that he has emerged as a mainstay in all three formats.
However, the bowler reportedly turned down the opportunity to sit on the bench.
Shoaib Akhtar has now backed Afridi's decision and said there should be no concerns regarding workload management for the 21-year-old.
"He [Shaheen] would have bowled around 90 overs in his T20I career so far. In his last eight Test matches, he would have bowled around 150 overs. Is he tired already? Is it too much workload? Stop bringing workload concerns again and again with regards to Shaheen Afridi. Imran Khan and Wasim Akram used to bowl more overs than him in the nets alone," said Akhtar on a local TV channel as quoted by Cricketpakistan.com.
Pakistan recently romped to victory against Zimbabwe in the two-match Test series, winning both matches by a margin of an innings. Shaheen Afridi bowled 60 overs across two Tests, picking up 10 wickets at an average of 16.40.
Shaheen Afridi doesn’t want to rest himself because he might have fear of losing his place: Junaid Khan
While Shoaib Akhtar doesn't see any harm in Shaheen Afridi constantly playing across three formats, Junaid Khan has another theory as to why Afridi refused to take a breather from the Zimbabwe series.
The bowler opined that Afridi was afraid of losing his spot to someone else in the team and hence, decided not to take a rest.
"Shaheen definitely needs rest. The management needs to make sure he doesn’t bowl a lot during the net sessions. Shaheen probably doesn’t want to rest himself because he might have fear of losing his place to a youngster, who might perform in his place," Junaid Khan said in an interview with CricketPakistan.com
The Pakistan players now have close to a two-month break as their next assignment is a limited-overs tour to England in July.
However, reports have emerged that the PCB is trying to fit in the remainder of the 2021 Pakistan Super League (PSL) from now until July.
The PSL was earlier suspended in March following cases of COVID-19 breaking inside teams' bio-bubbles.