Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi was not selected for the Test squad for the West Indies tour; instead, he chose to play in the Lanka Premier League, where he was signed by the Kandy Royals for the season. Interestingly, Shaheen exited the LPL in the middle of the competition after just playing a few games.
The Pakistan pacer withdrew from the tournament, but was expected to return if the Kandy Royals advanced to the playoffs, which they did. As a result, the pacer has allegedly returned to the team before of the knockouts, as per his previous pledge.
Shaheen Afridi rejoins LPL after major controversy
According to Geo News, the left-arm seamer will rejoin his LPL squad, Kandy Royals, with national teammates Hassan Nawaz and Khushdil Shah. Shaheen had already notified the franchise that he would be leaving the tournament for personal reasons, but they did not share the details.
Interestingly, his withdrawal came just days after an administrative blunder resulted in his removal from Kandy Royals’ XI match against Colombo Capitals.
Shaheen was chosen as one of the game’s impact players. However, after the Kandy Royals chose to bat first, team management notified him that his name had been incorrectly missed off the official squad sheet due to an analyst’s mistake.
Shaheen Afridi reported the incident to the LPL Anti-Corruption Unit before discussing it with the match referee. The organisers and franchise apologised to the Pakistani player, but he quit the tournament in the middle.
However, now that Kandy has advanced to the playoffs, the Pakistan ODI captain has returned to the squad, providing a significant boost to the team.
Shaheen Afridi was not chosen for the Test team, and it was thought that he would reclaim his Midas touch by dominating in the cutthroat LPL. Nonetheless, the fast bowler had a dismal campaign and left the tournament midway.
The 26-year-old appeared in six games for the Kandy Royals, and he managed to pick up 7 wickets, with an average of 32.00 and an economy rate of 10.18. He appeared out of his element as the hitters toyed with him in all six games he played.
Furthermore, Shaheen Afridi, famed for his velocity, suffered a setback when his average speed was about 130 km/h, which impeded his bowling by allowing the batsmen to react to him.
Kandy Royals sign two more Pakistan stars apart from Shaheen
While Shaheen Afridi return will be a huge boost for the Kandy Royals, the squad has also signed two of his teammates ahead of the knockout round.
Khushdil Shah and Hassan Nawaz will also join the team, which further boosts the team combination as three quality Pakistan players are named in the Kandy squad before the all-important final game.
The Pakistani trio replaced Moeen Ali, Sediqullah Atal, and Brandon McMullen, who left the group after fulfilling their duties.
While Shaheen Afridi is anticipated to make the playing XI, his other two colleagues are not. The left-arm seamer’s experience could come in good for the Royals in their upcoming LPL encounter, so they may not change too much with their current playing lineup.
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