Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is gradually regaining his rhythm. The fast bowler, who hasn’t played well since the 2022 T20 World Cup, has shown promise in the just finished tri-series. Prior to the tournament, former cricketer Wasim Akram expressed his excitement over Shaheen’s return to action in the T20 competition.
The fast bowler’s demolition of the Indian top order during the 2021 T20 World Cup stole the limelight. Shaheen, meanwhile, hasn’t exactly reached those heights since. Following his 2021 exploits, the fast bowler had a ligament ailment that kept him out of action for several months.
Despite making a comeback in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Shaheen never truly looked like the same bowler.
With some scorching spells against the West Indies and in the tri-series, the fast bowler finally showed indications of getting back to his former form after two turbulent years in Pakistani cricket. Regarding the same, Akram expressed his excitement with Shaheen’s progress in the continental event.
“Shaheen Shah Afridi is definitely back into his rhythm. I saw him just recently. He was sprinting in every ball and was bowling at 140ks, and that is good enough for me. I want Shaheen to concentrate on his bowling and batting. He is still a young man. He gets angry very quickly, upset very quickly. He has to learn and move on quickly. He needs to have tunnel vision, focus, and let things settle themselves,” Akram said.
On Friday, September 12, Pakistan will play their first match of the tournament against Oman. They will play India in the tournament’s marquee match two days later.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha stated ahead of the Asia Cup that the team is getting along well without superstars Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan and that they are looking forward to play aggressively and compete for the title.
Pakistan’s Asia Cup Squad: Salman Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Mohammad Wasim Jr
