Shahid Afridi offers advice to struggling Shadab Khan

Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi spoke with all-rounder Shadab Khan after his poor performance against England in the second T20I in Birmingham, which Pakistan lost by 23 runs.

Shadab conceded 55 runs in his four overs without taking a wicket, marking his worst T20I bowling figures. Previously, in the first T20I against Ireland, he gave up 54 runs in four overs without a wicket, leading to his omission from the next two T20Is.

Afridi explained that he reached out to Shadab because he understood the difficult phase the young cricketer was going through and wanted to provide support and motivation.

“I need Shadab to deliver with the ball. Whenever he has performed with the ball, Pakistan have won. I have watched all of his matches in the past. We had a detailed chat yesterday, I asked him who is coaching him or if there is something he is not doing, how are you making such mistakes is there no one to tell you?” Afridi said.

“I called yesterday because I know he is going through a difficult time so I always try to help and motivate players who are having a hard time. Similarly, I talked with Shadab about what he is doing wrong and I hope that if he does [what he discussed] in training sessions, you will see the difference,” he added.

He also raised concerns about the lack of a dedicated leg-spin coach for the team, noting that Saeed Ajmal, an off-spinner, was the closest available resource.

“Is there any leg-spin coach with the team? Saeed Ajmal was there but he was an off-spinner. Ajmal should be asked if he guided Shadab and why is he not doing what he was told,” he said.

Acknowledging the pressure Shadab was under, Afridi emphasized that great players know how to overcome challenging situations. He shared a couple of issues he observed in Shadab's bowling and expressed optimism that Shadab would work on these areas to improve his performance.

“I know there must be tremendous pressure on Shadab but big players know how to pull themselves out of such situations. I shared with him one to two problems I found with his bowling and I’m hoping that he will work on those things,” he added.