Pakistan’s former skipper Shahid Afridi has reached out to Green Shirts’ spinner Shadab Khan after the latter conceded more than 50 runs without taking any wicket during the second T20I against England on Saturday.
During the match played at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham, England secured a 23-run victory against the national side after Babar Azam’s men fell short of the 184-run target and were bowled out at 160 in 19.2 overs.
The match saw Shadab conceding 55 runs in his four overs without taking any wickets — his worst bowling figure in T20Is.
The right-arm leg spinner had bowled the same figures during a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match against Peshawar Zalmi in 2021.
Afridi, while talking to a local news channel, revealed he had a chat with Shadab after Saturday’s match where he tried to give him confidence and told him what he was doing wrong with the ball.
“I need Shadab to deliver with the ball. Whenever he has performed with the ball, Pakistan have won. I have watched all of his matches in the past. We had a detailed chat yesterday, I asked him who is coaching him or if there is something he is not doing, how are you making such mistakes is there no one to tell you?” said Afridi.
“I called yesterday because I know he is going through a difficult time so I always try to help and motivate players who are having a hard time. Similarly, I talked with Shadab about what he is doing wrong and I hope that if he does [what he discussed] in training sessions, you will see the difference.”
He was then asked if there’s some mental block with Shadab to which he said: “Is there any leg-spin coach with the team? Saeed Ajmal was there but he was an off-spinner. Ajmal should be asked if he guided Shadab and why is he not doing what he was told.
“I know there must be tremendous pressure on Shadab but big players know how to pull themselves out of such situations. I shared with him one to two problems I found with his bowling and I’m hoping that he will work on those things,” the former skipper concluded.
