Shaheen Afridi neglected the orders of the selectors and this led to his exclusion from the Test Team
It's really hard to imagine Pakistan's test team without the presence of Shaheen Shah Afridi and it's a situation which is really hard to occur. However, a shocking call was taken by the National Team's selectors and despite being in excellent form with the ball, elite Pakistani seamer was not considered for selection in Pakistan's two-match Test-Series verus the South Africans.
Afridi delivered am exceptional performance in the One Day International series versus the same opposition, dismissing the highest number of batters (7) and his role with the ball was crucial in his team's success.
But despite all this, the pacer wasn't even considered for selection for the two-match Test-Series versus the Proteas. According to some news reports, prior to the squad-announcement of the Shaheens, a selector reportedly asked the 24-year-old to take part in a practice Four-day match before the commencement of the Test-Series.
Due to some personal reasons, Shaheen wasn't able to comply with the instructions of the Pakistani selectors. This was comprehended as "disobedience" by the selectors which led to his eventual exclusion from the Test team. Notably, a similar instruction was given to former skipper Babar Azam too, who also didn't comply with the instructions but was still included in the Test team.
According to some inside sources of Pakistani Men's National Cricket Team, it's believed that the dominating behavior of a certain selector has caused a feeling of dissatisfaction among the national team players. The selector, who recently announced his retirement from Cricket, reportedly maintains a dominating attitude even towards former players. It's believed that the selector is none other than Aleem Dar who was drafted in the selection committee just a few months back.
According to some close sources of Shaheen, the pacer still has the passion in him to represent Pakistan in the longest of the game and he was pretty disappointed by the selectors' decision to exclude him from the Test Team for the South Africa series.
Post the conclusion of the One-Day International series, the 24-year-old even gave the offer to stay in South Africa for the upcoming Test-Series if the national team selectora felt the need to include him in the squad, but no initiative was taken to select him.
The Shan Masood-led team desperately felt the absence of a left-handed pacer and this was pretty evident in the Centurion Test-match versus the Proteas. Another left-arm seamer Mir Hamza, who is known for his speed and variations, was not considered for selection too.
Talking about Shaheen Shah Afridi again, the reason for not selecting him was given as workload management but shockingly, he was allowed to participate in the upcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He is a part of the team of Fortune Barishal and the 24-year-old is anticipated to play in five contests for the franchise.
