Each player dream about winning his or her country a World Cup game. And especially against India if you hail from Pakistan. But in recent times they have ended up on the wrong side but to put an end to that dreadful statistic must take some doing. And so it did.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, remember the name. Almost two metre tall and the ability to swing the ball both ways in express pace, makes him a real deal for every batter coming out to bat. He is the pure definition of once-in-a-generation athlete. An interesting fact to add to this is that Pakistan have just lost one T20I game when Afridi has struck in the very first over. And that was against Australia in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup.
“Gone, surely, gone. Yes, that’s absolutely plumb. What a beauty, full and straight”
Against India, he did exactly what was expected out of him, he dismissed Rohit Sharma for his third golden duck in T20Is. In 62 T20 innings that was his 22nd wicket in the first over, according to ESPNcricinfo. In other words, he strikes once every third game right at the front.
What makes him so dangerous and almost impossible to play is his courage to bowl full, just like Rohit Sharma dismissal. In addition to that, his average pace is close to 90 mph as well as him being a left armer and has a different release point compared to other world-class bowlers such as Bumrah, Archer and Rabada. He is not heavily dependent on the swing upfront, he can hit the deck hard as well which makes the batter smell the leather.
Moreover, the quality which he bowls with and the temperament he is using has become quite handy for the Men in Green. In T20Is this year, he has dismissed the top-three of the opposition eight times in 12 games, including KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Dawid Malan, currently placed number two in ICC T20 batting rankings.
World class already
Last time when a bowler was so impressive in powerplay and setting the game up for his team, happened to be Jofra Archer in IPL 2020. He had the economy rate of just above four and struck ten times in 2020 edition, merely in the powerplay.
Currently, there are world-class bowlers such as Bumrah, Starc and Rabada who have been performing well for a long time on the international stage. Lately, Archer and Nortje have announced themselves as well. But this guy is something else.
He is already competing with these guys and performing like he has been playing this sport for last 20 years. So smart at this age, no wonder experts and pundits are comparing him to the great Wasim Akram. This young speedster from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a bright future lying in front of him and is on his way to become one of the most lethal fast-opening bowlers in the course of time.
Foto: ©ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2020
