Not Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma!! Shaheen Afridi names the toughest batsman he has bowled to

Pakistan left-arm pacer and captain of the national side’s T20 team, Shaheen Afridi has claimed that former South African opening batsman Hashim Amla stands as the toughest batter he has ever bowled against. Afridi made these comments recently while speaking during a live session on his X (formerly Twitter) space.

Shaheen Afridi is currently representing the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 2024 edition, which is captained by former New Zealand opening batter Colin Munro. The Vipers suffered a 30-run loss yesterday during match number 21 of the latest edition against the MI Emirates at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Afridi watched his teammates getting stepped over by Nicholas Pooran’s Emirates side which came all guns blazing against the Vipers. After Colin Munro asked the Emirates to bat first, the home team got off to a flyer, thanks to Sri-Lanka opener Kusal Perera’s brilliant knock of 65 off 46 at a fiery strike rate of over 145 which included 8 fours and a six.

Although his partner Muhammad Waseem departed cheaply for 7, Perera continued to show his power-hitting prowess. Number 3 batter Andre Fletcher failed to provide stability as he got out while trying to dispatch every ball out of the park for an 11 off 9.

Then came the veteran Ambati Rayudu who steadied the Emirates’ falling ship. He chipped in very well with his 44 off 38 deliveries including 5 fours and a six. Rayudu stitched a 75-run partnership with Perera before the latter received his marching orders from countryman Wanindu Hasaranga.

MI Emirates captain Nicholas Pooran then played out a man-of-the-match winning knock of 39 off 15 at an unbelievable strike rate of over 260. His blistering knock included 3 fours and 4 sixes and helped his side post a defendable total of 189 on the board.

It was evident that the Desert Vipers missed the services of Shaheen Afridi who added a lot of variety and depth to the bowling attack. He is very effective with the new ball as well as the old ball, mainly because of the raw pace he generates and the high release point of his action, which is aided by his height.

In his absence, Mohammad Amir had the onus of leading the bowling attack and he was the team’s most economical bowler last night. Shaheen Afridi is expected to return for Desert Vipers’ next ILT20 clash against the Dubai Capitals on February 9th at the Dubai Sports City cricket stadium. The Vipers are currently in contention to reach the play-off rounds as they are currently placed at number 4 with 6 points to their name.

Shaheen Afridi’s Record Against Hashim Amla Shows Why The Latter Is So Difficult To Bowl Against

During the live session on his space on X, Shaheen Afridi claimed that Hashim Amla gave him the toughest time as a bowler and their head-to-head record shows why. The left-arm fast bowler has been able to get his wicket only twice out of the 113 balls he has bowled to Amla in 3 Test innings, 4 ODI innings, and once during a T2o franchise league game.

“Hashim Amla is the toughest batter I have bowled to in my career.” – Shaheen Afridi said on his X handle.