Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has opened up on the workload management of fast bowlers in modern-day cricket.
Shaheen in an interview with a local news channel, coined the example of legendary pacers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis when probed about his workload.
“First of all, if you are saying that I have bowled the most in the world (among bowlers in Test cricket)… but if you look in the past, all our legends bowlers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, at that time there was no workload issue,” Afridi said.
The left-arm pacer down hyped the idea of workload management before emphasizing the need for mental fitness and also the ability to react accordingly in different situations.
“I don’t know why we have made it a big topic over the last one year that there is workload, players are getting injured. We are considering it more important. It depends individually on the players, how they play in particular formats. You need to be mentally fit and strong on how to react in different circumstances,” Shaheen Afridi added.
He backed his stance by stating that a pacer needs to develop new techniques to release the pressure whenever he feels that his body is reacting differently.
“It’s a small period where you need support from the management and close ones, who need to give you positive messages. I don’t know about the workload, it isn’t that much but I feel that everyone should enjoy regardless of the format,” Shaheen said.
It is worth mentioning here that the concern regarding Shaheen Afridi’s workload intensified when Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten mentioned the number of overs the left-arm pacer bowled.
Kirsten, while commentating on Monday’s Champions One-Day Cup, shared an alarming insight regarding ace pacer Afridi, who according to him, bowled three times more than any other pacer in the world.
“Fast bowlers are always under immense pressure to deliver and win games. When we look at our key resources, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have carried the bulk of the workload for Pakistan across all formats,” said Gary Kirsten.
“Shaheen has bowled three times more overs than any other fast bowler in the world over the last 18 months. That’s alarming—you’re bound to wear him down eventually,” he added.
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