Rawalpindi: The absence through injury of fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is a “big loss” to Pakistan in the three-match Test series starting this week, England head coach Brendon McCullum said yesterday. The lanky left-arm pacer Pakistan’s main wicket-taker in all three formats was left out of the series following a knee injury sustained during the Twenty20 World Cup final in Australia earlier this month.

The 22-year-old also had his appendix removed earlier this month. England practiced for the first time at Rawalpindi stadium on Monday, a day after arriving in Pakistan on their first Test tour since 2005. McCullum said Shaheen had made huge progress since he played with and then coached the fast bowler during the first two editions of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2016 and 2017.

Published in The Daily National Courier, November, 29 2022

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