Shaheen Afridi could be playing at The Ageas Bowl after all in 2020 …!

The young Pakistan seam bowler was due to be one of Hampshire’s overseas players in this summer’s T20 Blast.

The 20-year-old was snapped up after making a big impression in his first two years on the international scene.

Afridi was three days off his 18th birthday when he made his international T20 debut in April 2018.

He made his Test debut later that year, while his 6-35 against Bangladesh at Lord’s last summer were the best figures recorded by any bowler in the World Cup tournament.

While Afridi’s Hampshire career is on hold, he has been named in Pakistan’s 29-man squad for this summer’s tour of England.

The trip does not yet have official dates or venues but will be held in August and September, consisting of three Tests and three Twenty20s.

One of the T20s was due to be at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl, but the stadium could well be handed extra games if current lockdown restrictions are not eased by then.

Haris Sohail has made himself unavailable for Pakistan’s tour due to concerns over coronavirus.

Haris is the only player to withdraw from contention, following a similar decision by the West Indies trio of Darren Bravo, Keemo Paul and Shimron Hetmyer.

The enlarged squad will include both red- and white-ball players, all of whom will remain in the UK throughout the tour.

An additional four players have been placed on standby and could be called up in the event of any of the original group testing positive for Covid-19 during a screening round between June 20-25.

Head coach and selector Misbah-ul-Haq said: ‘The series against England will be challenging as our players have not played any competitive cricket since March, while the home team will come following a series against the West Indies.

‘This means we will have to hit the ground running as soon as we land in England and make the best use of the training sessions and match practice before we enter the first Test.

‘The players have also been selected with one eye on the future. I want these players to acquire as much cricket knowledge as possible.’

Afridi bagged 4-53 in the last of his eight Tests against Bangladesh in February. Prior to that, he had bagged a Test-best 5-77 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in December.

Afridi has taken 30 Test wickets at 27.96.

He was playing for Lahore Quaalanders in the Pakistan Super League prior to its curtailment in mid-March. He was the second leading wicket-taker in the competition with 13 at 18.92.