Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed - (Source: X.com)
On Wednesday, February 18, Pakistan locked horns against Namibia in a do-or-die match in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. The two teams met at the SSC Cricket Ground in Colombo. For the all-important game, the Men in Green made crucial decisions and dropped Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed.
At the toss, Salman Ali Agha opted to bat first and revealed that Pakistan have made two changes following humiliating defeat against India. Notably, Salman Mirza and Khawaja Nafay come into the side, while Shaheen and Abrar miss out.
Now the fans are confused whether it is a tactical decision or the two players are dealing with injury concerns and this article will shed light on that.
Why Is Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed not playing vs Namibia?
For the unversed, the two players are not dealing with any injury concerns, but have been benched purely because of tactical reasons. The two bowlers had a forgetful night against India, which is why the management turned their eye towards the bench.
Talking about Shaheen Afridi, the left-arm seamer has looked a pale shadow of his earlier versions so far and he registered the figures 1/31 in his two overs, which is the reason, Salman Mirza has been brought back into the side.
On the other hand, Abrar Ahmed's exclusion is shocking because the star spinner hasn't done much wrong to be benched. He had an off day against India, where he leaked 38 runs in his three overs, which could possibly the reason behind him not getting a place in the playing XI.
How Have Shaheen Afridi And Abrar Ahmed Fared In T20 World Cup 2026?
The sword was hanging over Shaheen's head for a long time over lacklustre performance, which is why his exclusion is not shocking anymore for the fans. Talking about his numbers in this World Cup, then the left-arm seamer has just 3 wickets in three matches. He has picked up a wicket in every game.
However, his economy has been 11.22. Pakistan have played all their group-stage matches in Colombo, a surface which has favoured the spinners. Therefore, Pakistan didn't feel the need to play an underwhelming pacer for the all-important clash. Because, if the Men in Green lose, they will be knocked out of the tournament in group-stage for the second time in the competition.
Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed has been decent as well with his performance. In the three matches, he also has three wickets. Abrar started the tournament well with a brace against Netherlands. However, he registered the figures of 1/30 in his four overs against USA. Further, as mentioned earlier, Abrar went wicketless against India and leaked 38 runs.
Talking about the ongoing match, at the time of writing this article, Pakistan are 19/0 after 2.3 overs. Also, Khawaja Nafay will play his first match of the tournament, while Salman Mirza is back after playing the first match, where he picked up three wickets.
