Why is Shaheen Shah Afridi not playing today’s PSL 8 match between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings in Lahore?

During the 30th match of the ongoing eighth edition of Pakistan Super League between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium, Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim has won the toss and opted to bat first.

Knocked out of the tournament on the back of winning two and losing seven out of their first nine league matches, Kings are placed at the bottom of the table and a victory might see them replacing Quetta Gladiators at the fifth position.

Coming on the back of three consecutive losses, Karachi have made as many as seven changes to their Playing XI for the last league match of the season.

As a result, opening batters Matthew Wade and Adam Rossington, middle-order batter Qasim Akram, pacers Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Musa and Mohammad Amir and spinner Tabraiz Shamsi have all been left out for the likes of Haider Ali, Muhammad Akhlaq, Ben Cutting, Irfan Khan Niazi, Imran Tahir, Muhammad Umer and Akif Javed.

Why is Shaheen Shah Afridi not playing today vs Karachi Kings?

Defending champions Lahore Qalandars, who have already confirmed a topmost spot for themselves in PSL 8 points table, have made a couple of changes to their Playing XI for an outright dead-rubber of a match.

Both batter Shane Dadswell and fast bowler Dilbar Hussain are playing their first match of the season in place of all-rounder Sikandar Raza and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi. While Dadswell has been handed a PSL debut, Hussain is playing a PSL match after almost 16 months. Furthermore, readers must note that both Raza and Afridi have been rested tonight.

Allrounder ✅
Finisher ✅
Captain ✅

All boxes ticked by our Murshid @David_Wiese pic.twitter.com/Rgsp8YomoP

— Lahore Qalandars (@lahoreqalandars) March 12, 2023

Veteran Namibia all-rounder David Wiese, 37, is leading Qalandars in Afridi’s absence on a Sunday night. Wiese, who has never led in his 54-match international cricket across white-ball formats, is leading a team for the first time in his 324th T20. Having participated in various T20 leagues across the globe, Wiese is doubtlessly an experienced campaigner.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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