IND vs PAK: "It Would Be The Biggest Blunder To Let Shaheen Afridi Play": Aaqib Javed

Shaheen Afridi didn’t have a new ball wicket on Sunday against India, but he only conceded eight runs in two overs. As a result of Virat Kohli’s stunning 82*, which led India to a four-wicket victory, he was eventually destroyed for 26 runs in his final two overs.
Aaqib Javed, a former Pakistan pace bowler, gave Babar Azam a harsh warning about playing the tall fast bowler later in the competition.

Shaheen Afridi was slated to make his knee injury comeback and play against the Men in Blue in Melbourne, according to PCB chairman Ramiz Raja, who made the announcement a fortnight prior to the highly anticipated 2022 T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan.

When Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets in October of last year, Shaheen was instrumental in the victory thanks to his quick dismissals of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in the span of just seven deliveries with the new ball.

Shaheen had a knee injury during the Sri Lanka Test series in August, and as a result, she was unable to participate in the Asia Cup or the series against England at home. Later, when Pakistan was playing in a tri-series in New Zealand earlier this week, he joined the team, but he did not participate in any games. He did, however, bowl for Pakistan in the World Cup warm-up games.

“Shaheen is still concerned about injuring his knee”: Aaqib Javed

He failed not to take a wicket with the new ball on Sunday against India but only allowed eight runs to be scored in two overs. Shaheen’s rapidity, though, disturbed Javed. The World Cup-winning pacer Aaqib Javed asserted that throughout his run-up, the bowler did not appear to be at his best.

“Nehi, 100 per cent nazar nehi aaye. Woh jo pehla ball bhaga hai na, I was like, ‘Oh…what’s happening?’. Because shuru main uska woh pace, woh arm speed…but idhr dekhiye, uska pace bhi kaam aa rahi thi. Bhagne main bhi conscious nazar aaye,” he said on Geo News.

Aaqib Javed thinks it would be a huge mistake for Babar Azam to keep playing Shaheen at the World Cup if he continues to worry about injuring his knee once more.

“Dekhna yeh hain ki agar woh bhag nehi sakte then it would be the biggest blunder to let Shaheen play,” Aaqib Javed said.

He was eventually smashed for 26 runs in his last two overs as Virat Kohli’s brilliant 82* guided India to a four-wicket win.

Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Zaheer Khan Identifies The ‘Most Important’ Aspect Of Virat Kohli’s Heroic Knock Against Pakistan