Shahid Afridi sets bold criteria for national selection

Pakistan's interim Chief Selector Shahid Afridi has been a busy man since his appointment. The former cricketer has made a bold statement regarding the selection criteria for batters in the T20I team. Afridi revealed that players with strike rates lower than 135 won't be considered for selection in the national team.

The Men in Green have come under scrutiny for their lackluster approach with the bat in recent times and in a bid to fix their timid batting approach  Afridi has devised a new plan. The former all-rounder, who was known for his explosive abilities with the bat, highlighted that batters with a strike rate below 135 won't be selected for the Pakistani T20 side.

"No batter in T20 will be selected for Pakistan who will not have a strike rate of more than 135 in domestic cricket," Afridi said speaking to Samaa TV.

Afridi's latest statement has added intrigue to the ongoing debate surrounding the strike rates of Pakistani skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the shortest format of the game. Both batters have been prolific as openers in T20Is, however, their low strike rates have often been a subject of criticism. It will be interesting to see how Pakistan accommodates these two batters following Afridi's bold remarks.

Talking about the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, the former cricketer reckoned that the pitch for the second Test against the Kiwis was much better than previous Tests. However, he feels there is still room for improvement, especially in regard to the bounce on offer at the venues in the country.

"I am not satisfied with the pitch prepared for the second test. I want more bounce in the pitch, but it is better than the pitches prepared previously for test cricket in Pakistan," he added.

It is worth noting that the Pakistani pitches have been under the scanner lately due to their benign nature that has almost nothing to offer for the fast bowlers.