T20 World Cup 2024: Not Shaheen Afridi! Shahid Afridi names key player for Pakistan's T20 WC success

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi talked about the key to success in the T20 World Cup 2024 for the Babar Azam-led side. He said that the Men in Green has the strongest bowling lineup in the tournament and he hopes the team to reach the final of the event.

Pakistan will be one of the hot favorites to win the T20 World Cup 2024. They recently named their squad for the tournament and it's fair to say that it's a bowling-dominated attack as they have named five quality fast bowlers in their 15-player squad for the event, which will take place in the USA and the Caribbean.

Shaheen Afridi will be leading the bowling attack, which has the likes of Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abbas Afridi, and Mohammad Amir. Apart from this, they have spinners in Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed.

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Pakistan in the last two T20 World Cups has been brilliant. They reached the semi-final in 2021 and then played the final in 2022. However, this time around they would be keen to go one step ahead and win the tournament, claiming their second title.

Shahid Afridi believes that Pakistan will make the final of the ICC T20 World 2024 because the conditions will favor them. While highlighting the fast bowling prowess of the team, he claimed that all the players will have having huge responsibility. Speaking to ICC, he stated:

"I think in any cricket team in the world, nobody has such a strong bowling line-up. All our four fast bowlers have a lot of skill and even the bowlers sitting on the bench like Abbas (Afridi)... have a lot of skill with a good slower ball. If the players with such good skills enter this World Cup against world-class batters they will perform well.

"All the names will also have a huge responsibility over them. Pakistan finished as runners-up at the most recent edition of the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 and Afridi believes the team can at least match that effort this time around. I feel Pakistan should make the final. The reason is that the conditions (in West Indies and USA) suit our team."

If I had to pick one, I would pick the captain Babar Azam - Shahid Afridi on key player for Pakistan

Shahid Afridi further analyzed the team's squad and pointed out that the strike rate of the batters in the middle overs is the only thing that bothers him. He also picked Babar Azam as the key player for the team, saying that the skipper's decision would take them to victory. He added:

"If we look at the spinners in our team, they are outstanding. They might not be in form but I know they will return in form. If we talk about fast bowling, it’s an incredible attack. In batting, we have great strength. The thing that bothers me is the strike rate of our batters, especially in between the seven to thirteen over phase. I hope that the strike rate improves in that phase. In terms of runs per over, eight or nine runs per over are needed but still Pakistan are my favourite."

"All players in the team are important. But if you look at the performances in the recent past, Babar (Azam). (Mohammad) Rizwan, Fakhar (Zaman), Shaheen (Afridi), Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shadab (Khan) - all of them play an important role and will be key (for Pakistan) at the World Cup. But if I had to pick one, I would pick the captain Babar Azam, because he is the leader. I want him to perform well, and make timely decisions which will take the team to victory," he concluded.