PERTH: Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has been appointed vice-captain of the Pakistan Test Team for the series against Australia on Wednesday.
Earlier, Shaheen was also appointed captain of the Pakistan Men’s T20 Cricket Team.
Shaheen Afridi has represented Pakistan in 27 Test matches and picked 105 wickets at an impressive average of 25.58, including four five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul.
He has also featured in 53 ODIs and 52 T20Is for Pakistan, picking 104 and 64 wickets respectively.
Earlier today, Pakistan announced their playing XI for the first Test of the three-match Test series against Australia, which is scheduled to be played at Perth Stadium from tomorrow.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled the playing XI for the Perth Test.
The lineup features Pakistan captain Shan Masood, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Khurram Shahzad.
This match will be Shan Masood’s first match as the captain after being appointed the Test captain last month following Babar Azam’s resignation as captain.
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Notably, all-rounder Aamir Jamal and pace bowler Khurram Shahzad will make their Test debuts against Australia.
The 23-year-old Khurram Shahzad was the highest wicket-taker of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2023-24 with 36 wickets in eight matches at an average of 20.31 and picked up 13 wickets at 16.62 in the recently concluded Pakistan Cup.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Aamir Jamal has previously represented Pakistan in four T20I matches.
Australia have also announced their playing XI for the first Test under the leadership of Pat Cummins, with Steve Smith and Travis Head serving as co-vice-captains.
Steve Smith will be the senior vice-captain and the first choice to stand in as captain in the absence of Cummins.
Pakistan Playing XI for the first Test
Shan Masood (c), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Khurram Shahzad.
Australia Playing XI for the first Test
Pat Cummins (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood