Last Update on: September 11th, 2023 at 12:01 pm
Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis did not mince his words as he criticized Shaheen Afridi for his poor bowling against India in the Asia Cup Super 4 clash on Sunday (September 10).
Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field first but his bowlers could not provide the team with the early breakthrough. In the very first over of the game, India captain Rohit Sharma hit Shaheen Afridi for a stunning six to make his intentions clear. And Shaheen Afridi just could not hit the right line and length after that early six.
While his bowling partner Naseem Shah looked really threatening, Shaheen Afridi looked like a pale shadow of his usual self. In his second over, he was hit for three fours by Shubman Gill. The India opener hit him for three more fours in the fifth over. After conceding 31 runs in his first three overs, Shaheen Afridi was withdrawn from the attack.
Waqar Younis criticizes Shaheen Afridi:
With Shaheen Afridi enduring a tough opening spell against India, Waqar Younis has expressed his disappointment over the performance. The legendary fast-bowler stated that the Pakistan star tried too hard with the new ball.
“Shaheen was totally off-color with the new ball. Nobody in the Pakistan team line-up tried to bowl the short ball and the bouncers. The swing was there – Naseem showed it from the other end,” Waqar told Star Sports during the rain break during the India vs Pakistan clash.
“If you bowl in the right areas, you will trouble the batters. But Shaheen has to think hard, even in the previous match, although he bowled a brilliant 10 overs, he was off-color and tried too hard today and gave away easy boundaries,” he added.
In his second spell, Shaheen Afridi did well and conceded only 6 runs in 2 overs while also taking the wicket of Gill. But before he could try and finish the game on a strong note, rain brought a premature end to the day’s proceedings. The remaining game will now take place on the reserve day on Monday (September 11). India were on 147 for 2 in 24.1 overs when rain interrupted.