Wish Warner luck, but not hoping for a good end against us, says Shaheen Shah Afridi

Canberra, Dec 3 (IANS) Pakistan's pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi wished David Warner good luck as he prepares to play his last Test series, but added with a hint of the competitive spirit that the left-handed opener doesn’t have a good end to his red-ball career against his team.

Warner had earlier expressed about the wish to end his Test career when Australia faces Pakistan in the third and final game of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2024.

Although Warner has been in exceptional form in white-ball cricket, he has only averaged 31.79 since the start of 2020 and made only 285 runs at an average of 28.50 in five Ashes Tests this year. His average against Pakistan in Tests stands at a whopping 83.53.

Afridi began by acknowledging the Australian opener David Warner, stating him as a "great career" who has consistently delivered stellar performances across all three formats. "We would wish him good luck but not hoping for a good end for David Warner in his last Test series against us," he said to reporters in Canberra.

The three-match Test series begins on December 14 in Perth, followed by games in Melbourne and Sydney. Pakistan are at the top of the World Test Championship standings after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 earlier this year. "This is an important series for Pakistan as we are leading the World Test Championship's point table at the moment," stated Afridi.

Having faced a majority of the recently announced Australia squad for the first Test at Perth previously in international cricket, Afridi felt his team is prepared for the challenge against the Pat Cummins-led side.

"We have played against the recently announced Australia's 14-member squad, and we are all up for this challenge. We don't have much experience of Canberra, but I am sure this four-day match against PM XI will help us prepare well for the series against the home team starting from Perth," he concluded.