Shaheen Shah Afridi says players loaded their luggage at airport to save time as they had to catch next flight
- Shaheen wishes Warner good luck for last Test series.
- Says team is prepared for challenge against Australia.
- Pacer says team loaded luggage at airport to save time.
As the much-anticipated Test series between Pakistan and Australia inches closer, pacer Shaheen Afridi said that the team does not hope for a good ending to Australian opener David Warner’s last Test series.
Expressing his thoughts and confidence in a media talk before their first practice session in Canberra on Sunday, Shaheen said Warner has had a “great career” and has consistently delivered stellar performances across all three formats.
“We would wish him good luck but we are not hoping for a good end for David Warner in his last Test series against us,” said the pacer.
The left-arm fast bowler emphasised the significance of the series for Pakistan, highlighting their current top spot in the World Test Championship’s points table.
“This is an important series for Pakistan as we are leading the World Test Championship’s point table at the moment,” stated the 23-year-old pacer.
Having faced the majority of the recently announced Australian squad, Shaheen expressed the team’s preparedness for the challenge that lies ahead. “We have played against the recently announced Australia’s 14-member squad, and we are all up for this challenge,” he affirmed.
“We don’t have much experience of Canberra, but I am sure this four-day match against PM XI will help us prepare well for the series against the home team starting from Perth,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Shaheen also spoke about the recent viral video of players loading their luggage onto a container truck outside the Sydney airport, saying that they helped each other out to save time.
“We only had 30 minutes to catch our next flight and we helped because there were just two people. We wanted to wrap it up fast and to save time,” said the fast bowler in a media talk before their first practice session in Canberra on Sunday.
“We call this team a family and helped them as a family,” said 23-year-old Shaheen.
The video of the players went viral on social media showing them loading their luggage onto a container truck outside the Sydney airport which left cricket fans stunned.
Pakistan squad for Australia Tests
Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Australia tour schedule:
Four-day match: PM’s XI vs Pakistan – December 6-9: Manuka Oval, Canberra
1st Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 14-18: Perth Stadium
2nd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 26-30: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
3rd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – January 3-7: Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)
