‘Shaheen is afraid of losing his place to a youngster’: Junaid on workload issue

Left-arm pacer Junaid Khan believes Shaheen Afridi is avoiding rest because he is afraid of losing his place in the national team to a younger pacer.

While speaking in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Junaid said team management needs to carefully manage the workload of Shaheen Afridi.

"Shaheen definitely needs rest. The management needs to make sure he doesn’t bowl a lot during the net sessions. Shaheen probably doesn’t want to rest himself because he might have fear of losing his place to a youngster, who might perform in his place. He must be thinking they might drop him from one format if he doesn’t perform in few matches," said Junaid.

"In our culture, even if a player performs for six years and then doesn’t do well in two games, he is replaced by a new player who has done well in only few games. Everyone forgets that player’s performances for last six years and instead prefers younger talent. So our players are insecure about losing their place," he added.

Pacer believes Pakistan can learn about managing workload of pacers from England, who regularly rotate their players even during important series.

"We should learn about managing workload from England. During their recent Test series against India, they rotated James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Broad and Anderson would rest even after taking five or six wickets in the previous match. That is because they are secure of their place in the team. They know they will play in the future matches," he said.

ALSO READ: Franchises ask PCB to shift remaining PSL matches to UAE

Junaid wants the resumption of bilateral series between Pakistan and India as it can be a great learning experience for younger players.

"If a player wants to learn how to handle pressure, he should play against India. There is a lot of pressure on both teams during India-Pakistan encounters. Cricket should happen between both countries but it doesn’t look like it will take place for the next two or four years," he said.

"I learned how to handle pressure during the 2012 series against India in India. Fans from both countries will enjoy these matches but the decision to play the series depends on the administrators," he concluded.