Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi stressed that their main focus in the recent five-match T20I series against New Zealand was to prepare for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
The Pakistan cricket team managed to win the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand on January 21 by 42 runs in Christchurch, but they lost the series 1-4 to the Black Caps, having lost their first four games on the tour.
Shaheen snared nine wickets in the T20I series against New Zealand. After the T20I series loss, Shaheen highlighted the importance of patience and giving young players opportunities to find the best team combination for the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2024.
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Shaheen Afridi said in the post-match press conference: “I’ll talk about the five-match series overall. Our main aim was to build up the team for the World Cup, and bring about changes which will help the team. You don’t get results straightway for anything. You have to tolerate a few things.”
Afridi further stated: “If you are giving opportunities to youngsters, it will not be easy for them to succeed in these conditions right away. We were preparing for the World Cup, we continuously wanted to improve as a team so that when we arrive in England, we’re assured of which position a particular player needs to be slotted in.”
Meanwhile, Shaheen and the Pakistan team management decided to give Haseebullah Khan a chance in the fifth T20I, but he could not open his account and lost his wicket to Tim Southee. Shaheen said that Pakistan wanted the young batter to gain enough confidence.
Speaking on Haseebullah’s selection, the Pakistan skipper said: “Today, we gave Haseebullah a chance. We wanted to give the kid the opportunity and confidence so that when we have a home series in Pakistan, he hopefully performs.”
Shaheen also lauded youngsters Abbas Afridi and Saim Ayub for their performance in the T20I series against the Black Caps. He said, “He is a very good fielder and batter, and his bowling has been consistently good. We can have more stability in the bowling unit because of him.”
He signed off by saying, “He always wants to be in the game and give his best. Even today, he performed well with the bat. He is a great prospect for Pakistan. Saim Ayub didn’t perform to that level, but he has the ability to serve Pakistan for a long time.”
(With PTI/ANI Inputs)
