Pakistan paceman Shaheen Afridi insists red-ball format is still his 'first priority'

The left-arm paceman played in the Test series against Bangladesh in May but has since been dropped and missed the recent series' in West Indies and England.

Afridi's record in the longest format is still impressive with 126 Test wickets in 34 matches at average of just over 28.

The 26-year-old re-affirmed his commitment to the long format and is now getting ready to play his first first-class fixture in Pakistan in seven years when the domestic red-ball season gets under way this weekend.

"When I first played a first-class match in 2017 for KRL, that was quite a good debut," Afridi, who took 8 for 39 as a 17-year-old in that game, said. "Red-ball cricket is always my first priority.

"I've always loved it. I didn't get enough time to play because of international cricket, but I haven't been playing much cricket the last couple of months. So it's an opportunity to play red-ball cricket."

Afridi has had success on Pakistan's domestic circuit recently, finishing as the top wicket-taker in the recently concluded Champions Cup, a one-day tournament where he led his team, Pakistan Gold, to silverware.

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