Shaheen Afridi, the left-arm pacer for Pakistan, has explained why the players at Sydney airport manually loaded their bags onto a container truck. Recently, images and videos from this incident became popular on social media, leading to several theories and even criticism directed at the board by fans. Scroll down to read, Shaheen Reveals Why Players Loaded Their Baggage At Airport.
Shaheen Reveals Why Players loaded Their Baggage At Airport
Arriving in Australia for the pivotal Test series, the Pakistani team—which has seen numerous changes in leadership across formats and at the administrative level—looked to get past their poor ODI World Cup performance. The competition will take place from December 14 to January 7. The Shan Masood-led team arrived in Sydney more than a week ahead of schedule to prepare for the weather in Australia. They were also expected to play a practice match. Australia is ranked fourth in the World Test Championship cycle, and Pakistan will be looking to maintain its top spot.
The 23-year-old did clarify, though, that the guys were just helping each other out because they didn’t have much time left before their next trip.
Before Pakistan’s first-ever training session in Canberra, Afridi spoke with the reporters and explained the situation.
“We assisted because there were only two people, and we just had thirty minutes to make it to our next flight. We intended to save time by finishing it quickly. We support this team like a family and refer to them as such,” Afridi remarked.
There were only two staff personnel available to help them, according to the pacer. The players had to handle everything on their own because they were unable to handle all of the players’ luggage owing to the rush.
Pakistan has never won a Test series in Australia, and they have lost all 14 of their previous Test matches there since 1999. The Men in Green have wrapped up a dismal 2023 World Cup campaign, coming in fifth and missing out on a semi-final spot.
Babar Azam, a renowned batter and previous captain, is regarded by Shaheen Afridi as the team’s most important player because of his soothing presence in the locker room.
Following the World Cup, Babar resigned as Pakistan’s captain for all three forms. Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi were named as the new captains of the Test and Twenty20 international teams. The 29-year-old has battled with a dismal average of 27.80 in five Tests in Australia, despite his outstanding career Test average of over 48.
