Former Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi analyzed the performance of Pakistani bowlers and expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance of fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi in the recent Asia Cup 2023 match against India.
The Babar Azam-led Pakistani cricket team suffered a humiliating defeat against arch-rivals as the Men in Blue registered their biggest-ever ODI win in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Monday. Pakistan was given a big target of 357 runs, however, the Indian cricket team restricted them to 128-8 runs in 32 overs with Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf not coming out to bat due to injuries.
Shahid Afridi Slammed Shaheen Afridi For His Performance vs. India
Speaking in an exclusive interview with a local media news channel about the performance of bowlers, Shahid Afridi highlighted the challenges faced by bowlers in the modern era of cricket. He also criticized the performance of Shaheen Afridi, who is also his son-in-law.
Shahid observed that Shaheen’s line and length were not ideal during the match, which eventually impacted the team’s performance. He said:
“Shaheen needs to be consistent on his line and length. This is not any excuse that if you couldn’t deliver for one or two overs and then you get all angry at yourself. You have to find soft corners in cricket. He needs to refocus, the way he started his second spell it was good enough. So he should focus on that particular line and length. It is not obligatory always that you will get a wicket. If you’ll bowl in the right area, you will a wicket and chances of taking a wicket with a new ball are always higher,”
Appreciating fast-bowler Naseem Shah’s bowling, Shahid Afridi asked why Shaheen did not bowl at Naseem’s length. He said:
“If we had bowled properly [things would have been different], like the way Naseem Shah bowled early in the innings. Shaheen should have also bowled like Naseem but his line and length was not right,”
He added: “I think India had won the match after 20-25 overs,”
