New Delhi, July 12 – Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi is likely to miss the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh due to the birth of his first child with his wife Ansha Afridi.
Pakistan Test head coach Jason Gillispie confirmed the news and added that the pacer’s participation in the home two-match series is not confirmed yet.
“Shaheen can miss Bangladesh Test matches due to childbirth. We can give him (some) rest if he wants to stay with his wife till then,” Geo News quoted Gillispie as saying.
Pakistan are scheduled to host Bangladesh in Rawalpindi and Karachi, commencing on August 21.
Shaheen and his wife Ansha got married in September last year at the Zakaria Mosque in Karachi. The wedding ceremony was attended by Pakistani stars including captain Babar Azam and former cricketers including Misbah-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwer, Sohail Khan, and Tanveer Ahmed and others.
The speedster has been under the radar after reports emerged that he misbehaved with batting coach Mohammad Yousuf during Pakistan’s tour to England, just before the T20 World Cup 2024.
Earlier, he was replaced by Babar as Pakistan’s white-ball captain in March following their 4-1 T20I series defeat against New Zealand.
In the aftermath of that incident, he reportedly turned down Pakistan’s limited-overs vice- captain role ahead of the T20 World Cup.