MULTAN: Shaheen Afridi has said that the National Champions Cup 2026 has served its purpose by helping Pakistan assess players for the ICC World Cup 2027.
Shaheen led Pakistan Gold were outplayed in their first two fixtures before making a strong comeback against Pakistan Whites.
The left-arm pacer took three wickets to bowl out Whites for 172. His side then comfortably hit the winning runs in the 28th over and qualified for the final on the basis of a superior net run rate, despite being level on two points with Pakistan Blues and Whites.
Speaking to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) digital, Shaheen admitted that Gold had struggled in the first two matches but said they bounced back strongly against Whites.
“The first two games were not in favour but we then sensed an opportunity to qualify and had planned to bowl first to make the most of it,” he said.
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He praised his side’s performance against Whites while also hailing Fakhar Zaman’s dominant batting performance.
“Our players put in a lot of effort against Whites. The Greens are playing really well and Fakhar’s batting has made matches one-sided.”
He also said that the Champions Cup had provided an opportunity to assess the fitness of players and evaluate the available pool ahead of the ICC World Cup 2027.
“The tournament has been very good, and we have seen a couple of close games as well. It has helped us gauge the fitness of players as well. The tournament has also served its purpose of helping us test out pool of players as part of the ODI World Cup preparations,” Shaheen concluded.
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