Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan has reacted to the “India can’t play Shaheen” trend ahead of the Super 4 round match of the Asia Cup 2023 between India and Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday.
Led by Shaheen Afridi, the Pakistani pace attack has been in sensational form in the Asia Cup 2023 and has brought down every of their opposition.
Haris Rauf is the leading wicket-taker at the moment with 9 wickets, followed by Shaheen and Naseem, both of whom have 7 wickets each.
In the previous IND vs PAK match in Pallekele, Shaheen Afridi took four wickets – that of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja. Rauf recently took a 4-fer against Bangladesh on a flat pitch in Lahore while Naseem has done well in the death overs as well.
Following Shaheen’s superb spell against India, the “They can’t play him” trend took fire once again on social media; former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former pacer Wahab Riaz also joined that trend in trolling the Indian batters.
They will pose difficulty for the Indian top-order: Mohammad Rizwan
Reacting to his trend, on the eve of the Colombo game, Mohammad Rizwan said that not only the Indian batters, but any team would struggle against the pace trio of Shaheen, Rauf, and Naseem.
“Our fast bowlers have played a crucial role in taking us to the No.1 spot. And the three fast bowlers we are talking about, they are just going to pose difficulty for the Indian top-order but also for every team. They are gifted bowlers. And if you look at our bench strength, that is also very good and that is why we have risen to the top,” Mohammad Rizwan said on Saturday.
In the Pallekele game, Pakistan didn’t get to bat against the Indian bowlers as rain washed out the match after India’s innings. Rizwan said Pakistan batsmen have their plans ready for the Indian bowlers.
“Their batters also haven’t faced our bowlers a lot. They lost early wickets but they put close to 270 on the board. Similarly, we will also have plans when their bowlers will come up against us. India have a good bowling attack. Some of the world’s best who will obviously challenge us. But as professionals, we should be ready with the answers,” Rizwan added.
