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Hampshire sign Shaheen Shah Afridi for Vitality Blast 2020

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Abdullah719

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Hampshire Cricket are delighted to announce the signing of Shaheen Afridi for next year’s Vitality Blast competition.

The exciting Pakistan seamer will join the squad as overseas player and is expected to be available for the duration of the competition.

Afridi has become a crucial part of Pakistan’s seam attack across all formats in the last 18 months with the 19-year-old making 34 international appearances in that time, including as part of Pakistan’s ICC Cricket World Cup squad this summer.

An imposing and accurate left-arm paceman, Afridi burst onto the international scene in April 2018 when he was rewarded for an excellent domestic Pakistan Super League campaign with a T20I call-up for the national side’s series against the West Indies. Further international honours quickly followed with the 19-year-old also making his Test and ODI debuts last year.

Standing 6ft 6in tall, Afridi claimed the best figures for Pakistan in a World Cup with 6-35 at Lord’s in July – those figures also proved to be the best of the tournament as he finished with 16 scalps at an average of 14.63 in the tournament.

His impressive international exploits in white-ball cricket have translated to 54 wickets at an average of just 21.02 in 29 limited-overs matches overall.

Hampshire Director of Cricket, Giles White said: “A lot of the best sides in T20 cricket possess a very good bowling attack and Shaheen adds an extra dimension to the group we have, offering excellent accuracy, pace and lots of variations. He’s an emerging young talent in world cricket so we’re delighted to have him on board for next summer’s Vitality Blast.”

Shaheen Afridi said: “I am delighted to sign with Hampshire for the upcoming Vitality Blast competition. I have always enjoyed playing in England in front of the fantastic fans and I look forward to joining this historic club for my first experience of county cricket.”
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AfridiSigns?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AfridiSigns</a> &#55357;&#56384;<br><br>You'll know the name, but this time it's a different face... &#55357;&#56841;<br><br>Introducing our new overseas signing for next summer's <a href="https://twitter.com/VitalityBlast?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VitalityBlast</a>! &#55357;&#56908;&#55357;&#56485; <a href="https://t.co/Zw5zCEF8bt">pic.twitter.com/Zw5zCEF8bt</a></p>— Hampshire Cricket (@hantscricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/hantscricket/status/1207223978441482240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Sad.

Shaheen needs to focus on Test and ODI cricket. He's still young, inexperienced and have a lot to learn there.

He, Naseem, Shinwari etc. should be incentivized for skipping T20 leagues as well.

Otherwise, a repeat of Amir and Wahab is inevitable.
 
Hawkeye said:
Sad.

Shaheen needs to focus on Test and ODI cricket. He's still young, inexperienced and have a lot to learn there.

He, Naseem, Shinwari etc. should be incentivized for skipping T20 leagues as well.

Otherwise, a repeat of Amir and Wahab is inevitable.
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Agree with you here in general, but there's a T20 World Cup next year for which Shaheen needs to be ready and on top of his game, so don't mind this.
 
Good for Shaheen important to make money and get international exposure.

He will learn a lot from this.
 
So Shaheen will be playing the 100 and Vitality Blast, though these are better leagues going around in to be part of in terms of the company you will be in but would have preferred to see him play county cricket instead of one. Though I understand that Eng are also sending a lot of their players for PSL as well.
 
Big county! Legends such as Warne and KP have played for Hamps. Good for the lad!
 
angrypathan said:
Agree with you here in general, but there's a T20 World Cup next year for which Shaheen needs to be ready and on top of his game, so don't mind this.
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That's not really needed for Word T20. He's already decent.

Anyway, there is no concept of saving yourself for Tests/ODIs in PAK. Largely because the board doesn't incentivize those formats.

In a few years he won't be playing Tests most likely.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't play as the PCB may not let him, uess it was discussed with them first.

This may be a positive as Shaheen may then get a County championship contract after this.
 
Shaheen Shah Afridi going to Hamsphire ?

County deal for SSA?

heard on the Lh v Khi game commentary ... ideas?


I think will be great for SSA... With Abbas already deep in the county circuit, SSA's experience will be amazing for the series there...

Maybe get Abid Ali, Shan Masood and Harris Sohail a similar game deal too?
 
Rather he stays away from county. He has already developed as a fast bowler and any mileage he does in county will only add more wear n tear
 
Bowlers playing league cricket never ends well. Especially someone like Shaheen is too important for Pak and needs to be managed well.

I would rather have our bats playing in foreign conditions as bats need more time at the crease to get better. Unfortunately our pacers are more popular these days. Obviously Babar is an exception.
 
gazza619 said:
Rather he stays away from county. He has already developed as a fast bowler and any mileage he does in county will only add more wear n tear
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A short stint wont be too harmful, also should look at our schedule we barely play much Test Crick compared to teams like England and Australia
 
Would be better for his development to play county cricket instead of the blast.
 
This guy needs to be managed he is playing every game every series only a matter of time before he breaks. I think Lahore should rest him now since they are out of PSL.
 
sjahmed23 said:
This guy needs to be managed he is playing every game every series only a matter of time before he breaks. I think Lahore should rest him now since they are out of PSL.
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LQ is not out of PSL.

However, I get your point and PCB should be monitoring the workload.
 
Why are England holding T20 blast and The hundred? I thought the hundred was suppose to replace the Blast, a bit silly to have both the competitions running along with the English summer and county games.
 
Agree.I hope he gets a contract to play county cricket.A season in county cricket will help him polish his skills.If he performs well in T20 he may be signed for county cricket.Babar was signed for T20 but when they saw his technique Somerset offered him to play county championship too.
 
Artaxerxes said:
Agree.I hope he gets a contract to play county cricket.A season in county cricket will help him polish his skills.If he performs well in T20 he may be signed for county cricket.Babar was signed for T20 but when they saw his technique Somerset offered him to play county championship too.
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Babar got given 1 game in the county championship because they had too many overseas players on the books and they didn't have time during the T20s to unregister Babar and replace him with Babar and then do the reverse before the next T20. It's a similar deal this season except with Wade instead of Azhar which will allow Babar to play 2 championship games.
 
Shaddy86 said:
Why are England holding T20 blast and The hundred? I thought the hundred was suppose to replace the Blast, a bit silly to have both the competitions running along with the English summer and county games.
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The 100 is a different concept.
 
Hampshire Cricket can confirm that the club’s pre-season tour to La Manga has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

The bowlers and coaching staff currently at the resort will return to the UK today, whilst the remaining squad members who were due to travel later this week will no longer do so.

Director of Cricket, Giles White said: “The health and wellbeing of our players and staff is our primary concern and after monitoring the situation related to COVID-19 closely, we have taken the decision to return from La Manga as a precautionary measure.

“Following significant uncertainty around travel overseas and the further disruption this could cause, we will now continue our pre-season preparations at the Ageas Bowl, giving us the best opportunity to be prepared for the coming season.”

Hampshire have scheduled three pre-season friendlies ahead of the 2020 campaign, with two-day fixtures against Sussex (Hove), Lancashire (The Ageas Bowl) and Kent (Canterbury) confirmed ahead of the opening County Championship fixture against Kent beginning on Sunday 19th April.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shaheen Shah Afridi has signed to play for Hampshire in this season's T20 Vitality blast <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1300873041975611393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
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7 matches initially although this may change.
 
Exposure to high quality coaches should be good for him. Would have been great if he got a run in the first class circuit as well.
 
Fahdi said:
Exposure to high quality coaches should be good for him. Would have been great if he got a run in the first class circuit as well.
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Maybe next year. We don't play any cricket between March and July next year.
 
shamaan said:
Psl ?
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PSL ends in March. I was wrong though anyways, we have a tour of Zimbabwe scheduled for April. Still, he can play FC in May and June. We then come back to England for 3 ODIs and 3 T20s, then there's a tour to the Windies (3tests, 3 T20s).
 
Don’t know if this is the best of decision’s by Shaheen and the PCB. His bowling elbow is still heavily strapped, so you’d imagine they would handle him with care and rest him at any given opportunity.

Wouldn’t most of the top players from the blast be off in the IPL anyways?
 
Shaheen Afridi: An Update
The 20-year-old seamer will represent Hampshire in this year’s Vitality Blast

Pakistan bowler Shaheen Afridi will play for Hampshire in this year’s Vitality Blast.

The exciting left-armer will be joining the squad from September 2nd to October 4th and will be available for the last seven group matches plus the knock-out stages, should Hampshire qualify.

Fresh from his two wickets in Pakistan’s T20 victory over England last night, the 20-year-old is in tremendous form as Hampshire prepare to face Surrey, in front of a thousand people, at the Kia Oval on Thursday.

Afridi, having already taken seven wickets in England this summer, has proved to be a thorn in the side of the England top order and the spearhead of a talented Pakistan seam attack.

Giles White, Director of Cricket: “We’re delighted that Shaheen can join us for the remainder of the Vitality Blast, the skill he possesses with the white ball in hand will add depth and an extra dimension to our side. Since the confirmation of the 2020 fixtures, we have been working hard to ensure that Shaheen could play some part in our summer and we hope he can make an impact in the seven or so games he has with us.”

https://www.ageasbowl.com/cricket/news/shaheen-afridi-an-update/
 
He is just 20 years old pacer, question should he really be playing as much cricket? Once he comes back he will most likely be playing the national T20 competition, then Zimbabwe series along with the FC cricket which I think is most important for his development.

Can be a bit too much for his young body but, I hope he keeps working hard on his fitness.
 
This will not do much good to Shaheen , as he can get unfit by playing monstop cricket plus he should concentrate more on playing first class cricket so that he can learn how to bowl outswing to RHB and improve his line n length. He was lacking in both these areas in recently concluded test series.
 
Titan24 said:
He is just 20 years old pacer, question should he really be playing as much cricket? Once he comes back he will most likely be playing the national T20 competition, then Zimbabwe series along with the FC cricket which I think is most important for his development.

Can be a bit too much for his young body but, I hope he keeps working hard on his fitness.
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He's being treated same way as Hasan Ali, should have been rested for T20Is against England after playing 3 Tests, just hope he stays away from injuries but the amount of cricket he's gonna play in upcoming months, it looks unavoidable.

I would rest him for Zim series, both T20Is & ODIs, and let him play some QeA FC games instead but have a limit on no. of overs he can bowl per day, something BCCI has done with Bumrah & Shami recently though I doubt any of it will happen.
 
TrentDevil said:
He's being treated same way as Hasan Ali, should have been rested for T20Is against England after playing 3 Tests, just hope he stays away from injuries but the amount of cricket he's gonna play in upcoming months, it looks unavoidable.

I would rest him for Zim series, both T20Is & ODIs, and let him play some QeA FC games instead but have a limit on no. of overs he can bowl per day, something BCCI has done with Bumrah & Shami recently though I doubt any of it will happen.
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Hassan Ali is a skidding hack. Shaheen is a more complete bowler.

He's also probably 22-23 so I don't think he's too young to be playing cricket more often.
 
Badsha said:
Hassan Ali is a skidding hack. Shaheen is a more complete bowler.

He's also probably 22-23 so I don't think he's too young to be playing cricket more often.
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Bro I never compared the two bowlers, you aren't understanding the context here, I am talking about how Shaheen's workload is being managed. He should have been rested in T20Is, now that he wasn't, PCB shouldn't have allowed him to play in the Blast. By the time he arrives back in Pakistan, National T20 Cup will be going on, in which he will also play & then Zim series(October), PSL(November), NZ tour(December), SA series (January) & PSL again(February). There's almost non stop cricket for next 6 months & huge chance that we might see him getting injured and out of the team for longer period, if he isn't managed properly.

Same thing happened with Hasan, played non stop cricket for 2 years and every t20 league as well and now he's sitting at home since more than a year
 
No no no.....not good at all.

He needs rest and strength training.....should rests 4 Zim series too......it could have been better if he plays first class or county there..... even QEA trophy is important 4 both his and Haider Alis development.... They both should concentrate more on first class
 
He will bowl maximum 7×4 overs. So workload is not a problem but his focus on useless t20s will be a problem. He will bowl slow ball, cutter, full toss and we need him to bowl outswingers, putting six bowls on one spot.
 
Shaheen's career path and decision making seem to be very similar to Amir when he first started out.

Its natural for Shaheen to want to play in every T20 league that is offered, PCB needs to be more careful in playing him all 3 formats. Really don't see a reason for Shaheen to be playing T20I given all the other talent available
 
Good for him. Just needs to take some rest too. Guy isn’t a machine we should remember.
 
7-10 games depending on how far Hampshire get. Even if they make it to the final and Shaheen plays all the games, it's 40 overs in a month. He'll be fine. He'll get 2-3 weeks of rest before the Zimbabwe series too.
 
aloo paratha said:
7-10 games depending on how far Hampshire get. Even if they make it to the final and Shaheen plays all the games, it's 40 overs in a month. He'll be fine. He'll get 2-3 weeks of rest before the Zimbabwe series too.
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Isnt thier a domestic tournament happening in September
 
Titan24 said:
He is just 20 years old pacer, question should he really be playing as much cricket? Once he comes back he will most likely be playing the national T20 competition, then Zimbabwe series along with the FC cricket which I think is most important for his development.

Can be a bit too much for his young body but, I hope he keeps working hard on his fitness.
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Isnt the national cup going to be similar time to the t20 blast I would rest hom for zimbabwe
 
shamaan said:
Isnt thier a domestic tournament happening in September
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shamaan said:
Isnt the national cup going to be similar time to the t20 blast I would rest hom for zimbabwe
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National T20 cup is expected at the end of Sep beginning of Oct. No confirmed dates yet.

Babar and Shaheen will be returning on Oct 4th or before depending upon how far their team goes.
 
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aloo paratha said:
PSL ends in March. I was wrong though anyways, we have a tour of Zimbabwe scheduled for April. Still, he can play FC in May and June. We then come back to England for 3 ODIs and 3 T20s, then there's a tour to the Windies (3tests, 3 T20s).
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I fought Zimbabwe is in October or has it changed
 
Titan24 said:
He is just 20 years old pacer, question should he really be playing as much cricket? Once he comes back he will most likely be playing the national T20 competition, then Zimbabwe series along with the FC cricket which I think is most important for his development.

Can be a bit too much for his young body but, I hope he keeps working hard on his fitness.
Click to expand...

This tournament is happening in the UK during September.... looking at the weather it'll be lucky if he even manages to play half those games. It's easy money for him to sit and watch the rain 😂
 
Shaka81 said:
This tournament is happening in the UK during September.... looking at the weather it'll be lucky if he even manages to play half those games. It's easy money for him to sit and watch the rain 😂
Click to expand...

The weather's usually fine for cricket in England in September.
 
HitWicket said:
The weather's usually fine for cricket in England in September.
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The weather forecast isn't looking that good for the next few weeks. Quite changeable all over the UK. Although we usually get the worst of the weather up north and we're pretty much flooded up here in Glasgow. My colleagues in Manchester were all complaining about the rain too.
 
Shaka81 said:
The weather forecast isn't looking that good for the next few weeks. Quite changeable all over the UK. Although we usually get the worst of the weather up north and we're pretty much flooded up here in Glasgow. My colleagues in Manchester were all complaining about the rain too.
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Using forecasts that far in advance in the UK is pretty pointless but even then most of the country has weather forecasts that look fine for the next couple of weeks.
 
I guess the lad wants to make some money, but at this moment in time I would question whether this is the best time for him to be playing in a T20I competition.
 
Saj said:
I guess the lad wants to make some money, but at this moment in time I would question whether this is the best time for him to be playing in a T20I competition.
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100% agree. Shaheen is our main pace bowler. He plays all 3 formats and needs to be handled carefully. I hope the county manages him well and he also doesn't play the Zim series. But the latter is quite hard to imagine, given our managements obsession with short term gains.
 
Would prefer he played in the county championship. It would be better for his development.
 
aloo paratha said:
Forgot about that. He can skip that though, give other KPK pacers a chance. His spot in the team is already cemented.
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But he should be resting hes going to play that then they got Zimbabwe then they got south africa then New Zealand it's going to be none stop cricket for him
 
Slim said:
Shaheen shouldnt play the Zimbabve tour.
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He shouldn't play the Zimbabwe tour and the t20 blast but I guess pcb font have an option and have to let him play the t20 to keep him happy
 
Hasan123 said:
Would prefer he played in the county championship. It would be better for his development.
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Yes if it was country championship I would defo let him go but I guess PCB cant say no otherwise he will retire lol
 
I hope if shaheen is going to play all the t20 blast games he should he rested for the Zimbabwe tour
 
The test series was heavily rain affected and in the t20's he only bowled 10 overs across 5 days! He's already in England so it would be mad not to make the most of this opportunity really. At Shaheen's age there's always something to learn.
 
hitthestump said:
The test series was heavily rain affected and in the t20's he only bowled 10 overs across 5 days! He's already in England so it would be mad not to make the most of this opportunity really. At Shaheen's age there's always something to learn.
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If he was playing county cricket then you would have a point (although, I don’t think modern day county is very strong) but your not going to be learning much from a couple of T20’s against mediocre opposition.
 
I do hope he doesn't break down. He played every game this tour for us, and I know the Tests were affected by rain, but still there was a relatively short gap between games. It would be annoying if he got injured playing in a T20 competition. Good luck to him, though - hopefully he does well.
 
Match Preview: Surrey v Hampshire, Vitality Blast

Hampshire travel to the Kia Oval where their 2020 Vitality Blast campaign continues on Thursday against Surrey.
Hampshire will be looking to build on their most recent Vitality Blast win on the road when they face Surrey at the Kia Oval on Thursday.

Team News:

A 15-man squad has been named for the fixture at the Kia Oval, with Pakistan seamer Shaheen Afridi the only addition.

Mason Crane will be looking to continue his red hot form in Thursday's clash, the leg-spinner has claimed four wickets already in this year's competition.

Liam Dawson continues to be sidelined due to injury while James Vince remains unavailable as a precautionary measure until after the impending birth of his second child.

Full Hampshire Squad:

Sam Northeast (17) Captain

Brad Wheal (58)

Tom Alsop (9)

Ian Holland (22)

James Fuller (26)

Lewis McManus (18)

George Munsey (21)

Felix Organ (3)

Scott Currie (44)

Ajeet Dale (39)

Joe Weatherley (5)

Mason Crane (32)

Ryan Stevenson (47)

Chris Wood (25)

Shaheen Afridi (40)

https://www.ageasbowl.com/cricket/news/match-preview-surrey-v-hampshire,-vitality-blast/
 
Saj said:
I guess the lad wants to make some money, but at this moment in time I would question whether this is the best time for him to be playing in a T20I competition.
Click to expand...

I'd rather he had gone back to Pakistan and worked on a few aspects of his bowling that he is obviously struggling with. There are some technical issues that need addressing and they need looking at pretty quickly. They will not be sorted out by bowling a few 4-over spells.
 
Completely agreed!

Both Naseem and Shaheen really need to work on there fitness and technical issues


The test matches showed both of them need to work massively on there fitness
 
Saj said:
I'd rather he had gone back to Pakistan and worked on a few aspects of his bowling that he is obviously struggling with. There are some technical issues that need addressing and they need looking at pretty quickly. They will not be sorted out by bowling a few 4-over spells.
Click to expand...

I think he might benefit with being in an English environment with an English coach, bowling coach rather than dealing with the same tedious officials in Pakistan.
 
azimiqbal said:
Completely agreed!

Both Naseem and Shaheen really need to work on there fitness and technical issues


The test matches showed both of them need to work massively on there fitness
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You can work on fitness but even super fit bowlers will be toothless if there is no full time medium pacer playing the 5th bowlers role.
 
I am happy that he is getting experience in a very good and professional environment.

EhE6NNpWkAEYSUh
 
Savak said:
I think he might benefit with being in an English environment with an English coach, bowling coach rather than dealing with the same tedious officials in Pakistan.
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Agreed. If Shaheen wants to progress he should take note of what he's told to do in England and ignore all the advice he receives from Waqar (or any other Pakistani coach).
 
He will lean at Hampshire what a professional set up is.

Not the current Pakistan set up he is being brought up in where this 'bhai' and that 'bhai' is leading each function and everyone including the captain is reporting to Misbah bhai - who makes random calls at will.
 
Corridor of Uncertainty said:
He will lean at Hampshire what a professional set up is.

Not the current Pakistan set up he is being brought up in where this 'bhai' and that 'bhai' is leading each function and everyone including the captain is reporting to Misbah bhai - who makes random calls at will.
Click to expand...
Spot on.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
He will lose nearly £100K by not being able to play for Hampshire in the T20 Blast in 2021 due to the rearrangement of PSL6.
 
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