Pakistan showed pragmatism by recalling Shaheen Afridi and resisting major changes after Bangladesh T20 defeat

Upcoming series against West Indies will be challenging but also an opportunity to prepare for Asia Cup

Shaheen Afridi, third right, and Haris Rauf, second left, will be part of Pakistan's T20 attack. AFP

Shaheen Afridi has been recalled to Pakistan’s T20I squad for a three-match series against West Indies which begins in Florida on Friday.

Widely seen as the country’s best fast bowler over the past five years, Shaheen was struggling to find rhythm in the recent T20 Internationals. For that reason, he was either rested or dropped for Pakistan’s last two T20 series (at home and away against Bangladesh).

Shaheen had an alarming dip in his form in the format. Post T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA, the left-arm quick took just six wickets at an average of 49.83 and went wicketless in six of the nine T20Is.

However, after his Pakistan Super League heroics, where he led his team Lahore Qalandars to a third PSL title in four years and finished as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 19 scalps at an economy rate of 7.76, it was just a matter of time before he was recalled into the side.

Shaheen’s knack for striking early was on display in the recent PSL as he claimed five wickets in the first over of the innings and went at just 5.58 per over. Notably, 10 of his 19 wickets came during the last four must-win matches, underlining his ability to deliver under pressure.

As Shaheen is a new-ball specialist, his return has come at the expense of losing Salman Mirza, another Lahore Qalandars new-ball bowler, who in his debut T20I series against Bangladesh grabbed seven wickets in three matches with an economy of 5.21.

In most teams, such squad rotations are seen as routine. But in Pakistan, where recency bias often overrides long-term thinking and emotion-driven decisions can complicate selection, this sparked a debate. In fact, reactions on social media would make one believe Pakistan had dropped a legend like Wasim Akram.

Such overreactions highlight why players in Pakistan are reluctant to rest and often continue playing without their workload being managed because newcomers can get preference after performing in low-stakes series.

Though Mirza’s seven wickets came against a 10th ranked team and on substandard pitches, the possibility of him and Shaheen bowling together for Pakistan in the near-future cannot be ruled out, especially considering the lack of new-ball bowling options in the country.

Since the start of 2024, Pakistan’s opening bowlers have gone at 8.09 an over, the worst analysis for a Test playing nation in men’s T20 Internationals. Pakistan’s economy in powerplay during this period is also third worst (8.70), behind only West Indies (9.06) and England (9.42).

A major factor behind Pakistan’s poor numbers at the start of the innings is use of part-time bowlers or those who are in the team due to bowling being their secondary skill.

Under the new leadership of head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Agha, Pakistan have played six T20Is, all of which featured the new ball being shared by bowlers selected primarily for their batting: Saim Ayub, Faheem Ashraf and Agha himself.

The trio of Saim, Faheem and Agha also bowled 15 out of 36 overs in the powerplay in the recent six T20Is. Faheem accounted for 17 wickets in the recent PSL, so there can be an argument that he qualifies as a bowler, but it must not be forgotten that those 17 wickets came with an economy of 11.19, the worst among 28 bowlers in the tournament who bowled at least 20 overs.

For years, Pakistan have been labeled as a conservative batting side in the powerplay. That idea is beginning to change with the introduction of aggressive batters like Saim, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris and Hasan Nawaz.

But there is a risk that, while modernising their batting, Pakistan may now become a defensive bowling side if underpowered bowlers continue to bowl in the powerplay. The hope is that the 41 per cent of overs bowled by weaker bowlers during powerplay is only an experiment rather than a long-term strategy.

With a packed T20 schedule ahead, the management and the selectors do have room to try combinations. That flexibility may also explain why the batting unit wasn’t overhauled despite the recent series defeat in Bangladesh.

It is worth noting that some of the best sides like Australia, England and New Zealand have struggled in Bangladesh in recent years due to the slow and low pitches. Bangladesh’s home conditions have faced repeated criticism for stifling batting development, which is evident from their record as the third-best home side and second-worst away team over the last four years.

For once, Pakistan selectors and management deserve credit for showing restraint. They resisted the urge to make reactionary changes, stuck with the new attacking batting group and reinstated experienced bowlers like Shaheen and Haris Rauf.

That patience might again be tested in Florida. In the recent edition of Major League Cricket, the average first innings total in Florida was just 147, significantly lower than the 190-plus average totals in Dallas and Oakland (San Francisco).

For Pakistan, that means the upcoming series could be another tough test but also an opportunity to finalise their best squad before marquee events like the Asia Cup in the UAE and the T20 World Cup early next year.