Pakistan T20I captain Shaheen Afridi has made an interesting claim about the speed guns in Australia, saying they were surprised when they couldn’t hit speeds over 130 kph. Australia beat Pakistan 3-0 in a three-match home Test series.

Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand: Full coverage

Following their tour of Australia, the Pakistan team touched down in New Zealand to face the Kiwis in a five-match T20I series. Shaheen will be leading Pakistan, having taken over the white-ball captaincy from Babar Azam following an under-par display in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

The Pakistan pace attack was criticised for their lower-than-normal speeds on pace-friendly pitches in Australia. Shaheen managed to pick eight wickets in the first two Tests at an average of 41.63, while being rested for the final match of the series.

Speaking to the press ahead of the T20I series, Shaheen spoke about the speed guns in Australia, saying they couldn’t go above the 130-132 kph mark despite putting all their effort in, pointing towards potential tampering of speed guns.

“To be honest, we were ourselves looking at the speed o’ meters and wondering, is this really us? Because we were unable to understand that despite putting in all the effort, the speeds were not going up. Seeing 130-132 kph was disheartening and we thought this was pre-decided that we won’t go above 130 kph,” said Shaheen.

Speaking about the upcoming series with New Zealand, Shaheen said he is proud of leading Pakistan, while calling New Zealand one of the best teams in the world. The two sides will clash in the first T20I Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, January 12.

“It’s very exciting challenge and proud moment for me to represent Pakistan. Not easy, first time captaincy, new challenge and in New Zealand. We have a very good track record against New Zealand but they are one of the best teams in the world so we’ll try to do our best,” Shaheen added.

The five-match T20I series will be crucial for Pakistan’s preparation for this year’s T20 World Cup.