Former Pakistan cricketer, Saeed Ajmal, believes that young pacers, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, should not be playing together in a Test match. He said that they are too young and inexperienced to handle the pressure of the format.
The former off-spinner believes that the duo needs to gain experience and improve their game in the domestic circuit before being a part of the national side. Young prodigies have barely completed a full season of domestic cricket, he added.
Shaheen and Naseem are young and are still trying to prove their mettle. You need to go through the tough phase in domestic cricket to be able to perform in Test cricket.
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He believes only one of the two should be a part of the playing XI. According to Ajmal, they both can play the shorter formats of the game together, but experience is the key to win Test matches.
You can have one young bowler rather than having a completely inexperienced attack. England team also played only one young pacer along with their experienced bowler.
Saeed Ajmal also commented on Shadab Khan’s performances in the Test matches against England, adding that Shadab is not ready for Test cricket and there are better alternatives available in the domestic circuit such as Zafar Gohar. He believes rather than focusing on Shadab Khan, PCB should invest their time in Zafar Gohar for the Test side.
In my opinion, Zafar Gohar is the best choice as a future spinner in Test cricket. He is a finger spinner and his ball spins as well. If he is given confidence, then Pakistan can get a very bright spinning prospect in future.
Saeed also expressed his views on Yasir Shah. Ajmal said that Yasir was not bowling with confidence and was under pressure due to his high economy rate. He added that Yasir was bowling short which resulted in him being hit for boundaries.
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The Magician also said that Pakistan should play youngsters in the series against Zimbabwe. He feels this is the perfect opportunity to give youngsters a chance to prove their mettle in the international arena.
There should be a good mix of experienced and young cricketers, further adding that the focus of the selection committee should be to try to find a new spinner to add to the pool of players already at PCBs disposal.
Finally, Saeed Ajmal expressed his desire to coach the national team. “If PCB wants to hire me for any position with the national team or for a short camp, then I am available,” he concluded.
He speaks truth
I think he would be right