PAK vs AUS: "Shaheen Afridi Is Not Wasim Akram" - Ravi Shastri Shows Pakistan Pacer His Place In World Cricket

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has blasted Shaheen Afridi for his performance against India in the ICC World Cup 2023 match in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The Pakistan pacer picked up 2/36 from six overs but his team lost the game.

Shaheen Afridi dismissed Shubman Gill in his second over but Rohit Sharma played with an attacking approach against him as did Virat Kohli. Shaheen has been struggling with injury concerns off late and could not bring out his best against India.

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From 155/2, Pakistan were bowled out for 191. India’s response was led by skipper Rohit’s 86-run knock. In the end, India won the match with 117 balls to spare registering their eighth 50-over World Cup win against the arch-rivals.

Ravi Shastri during his commentary stint with Star Sports Hindi spoke about Shaheen Afridi and spoke about his impact as a bowler. He said that Shaheen is half the bowler without Naseem Shah in the lineup. He further said that Afridi is nowhere close to how Wasim Akram was.

No Need to Hype Him So Highly: Ravi Shastri On Shaheen Afridi

“He is a good bowler, he can claim a wicket with the new ball. But you have to admit it, if Naseem Shah is not playing and the quality of Pakistan’s spin bowling is like this, then Shaheen is not Wasim Akram. He’s a good bowler, but there is no need for us to hype him so highly as well. If a player is simply a good player, we should restrict our praise to saying he is a good player. He’s not a great player, we need to admit that,” Shastri said.

This was Pakistan’s first defeat in this World Cup campaign after they won back-to-back games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. Speaking about Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan skipper picked up 55 wickets in World Cups. Shaheen Afridi has taken 20 wickets across two World Cups so far.

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