ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s pace sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi and UAE batter Muhammad Waseem have been shortlisted for the ICC Player of the Month award for April 2024, the International Cricket Council (ICC) reported on Monday, after the left-arm bowler’s string of impressive performances against New Zealand last month. 

Afridi led Pakistan’s pace attack against New Zealand in a home T20I series against the Black Caps in April. Pakistan failed to win the series against a second-string New Zealand squad but drew 2-2 against Michael Bracewell’s squad. 

The left-arm pacer, however, played a key role in Pakistan’s victories in two of the five matches played between the teams. 

The second T20I saw Afridi blitz through the Blackcaps batting lineup, taking three for 13 as Pakistan registered a dominant victory. Then, trailing in the series for the fifth and final contest, Afridi once again wreaked havoc, taking four for 30 to salvage the series draw. Eight wickets in the series at an average of 10.00 saw Afridi walk away with the Player of the Series prize.

“Shaheen picked up the only wicket in the rain-affected opening match of the series with the Kiwis and then followed that up with two eye-catching efforts in the second and fifth games of the series in Rawalpindi and Lahore,” the ICC said in a report. 

“Eight wickets in the series at an average of 10.00 saw Afridi walk away with the Player of the Series prize.”

UAE’s pinch-hitter Waseem is also among the three nominees from the men’s category after scoring bulk runs at the ACC Premier Cup and helping himself to a third T20I century in April. Waseem started the month with a first-ball duck against Kuwait before the 30-year-old quickly found form at the top of the UAE batting order as he helped himself to innings of 65, 45 and 48 in three consecutive matches.

“But Waseem’s highlight of the month came in the final of the ACC Premier Cup as he smashed six fours and a whopping seven sixes in making his third T20I century from just 56 deliveries and helping UAE to an impressive 55-run triumph over Oman,” the ICC said. 

Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus is the third nominee shortlisted by the ICC for his impressive performances during the team’s tour of Oman in April. 

Erasmus produced two Player of the Match performances over the course of the five-match T20I series, with his first one coming in a narrow six-run loss in the second game of the series when the versatile all-rounder hit 58 from 56 deliveries and backed that up with a spell that netted 3/7.

However, in the decisive fifth match, Erasmus smashed six sixes when scoring a quickfire 64 from 29 deliveries and then made a pair of crucial breakthroughs as Namibia clinched the series with an emphatic 62-run triumph.

Afridi, who has 81 wickets from 61 T20Is, will be Pakistan’s pace attack leader as the green shirts take on Ireland and England in two away series this month. Pakistan will then head to the US and West Indies where they are scheduled to compete in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. 

KARACHI: Pakistan’s benchmark share index rose 1.5% during intraday trade on Monday, to an intraday high of 72,986 points.

The index has surged 73.4% over the past year and is up 12.9% year-to-date.

A Saudi delegation arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for talks on trade and investment opportunities, particularly in the exploration and production sectors.

Adnan Sheikh, assistant vice president at Pak Kuwait Investment Company, said the market was up following news of the delegation’s arrival along with an IMF statement regarding a mission visit.

“The PSX is still very cheap with price to earnings ratio of under 5x compared to average of 8x,” Sheikh added.

Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a new longer term program.

An International Monetary Fund mission is expected to visit Pakistan this month to discuss a program, the lender said on Sunday ahead of Islamabad beginning its annual budget-making process for the next financial year.

The IMF did not specify the dates of the visit, nor the size or duration of the program.

Earlier, in an interview with Reuters, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the country hoped to agree the outlines of a new IMF loan in May.

Pakistan is expected to seek at least $6 billion and request additional financing from the Fund under the Resilience and Sustainability Trust.