Shaheen Shah Afridi: “Wasim told us to bowl without fear and with confidence, he remains my [idol] and I strive to emulate his success by continuing to work hard on my game in the years ahead”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has revealed that legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram gave him some incredibly useful advice during an online session put together by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Afridi has been in incredible form for Pakistan since last year as he starred in the 2019 World Cup, where he took 16 wickets in five matches at an average of 14.62.
In Pakistan’s World Cup game against Bangladesh, Afridi finished with figures of 6-35 off 9.1 overs.
As a result, Afridi, who was 19 at the time, not only became the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a World Cup match, but also registered the best figures by a Pakistan player in a World Cup game.
In the two-Test series against Australia, he was Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker with five wickets an average of 36.80.
He also took the most wickets for Pakistan in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka as he claimed eight wickets at an average of 23.25.
In the Twenty20 series against Bangladesh, Afridi picked up two wickets in two matches at an average of 22.50 and an economy rate of 5.62.
As for the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, which Pakistan won by an innings and 44 runs, Afridi took five wickets, four of which came in the first innings.
Most recently, Afridi was the second-highest wicket-taker in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with 13 wickets in nine matches for the Lahore Qalandars at an average of 18.92 and an economy rate of 7.02.
Speaking about his interaction with Akram, Afridi said the Pakistan icon told him to “bowl without fear and with confidence”.
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“These lectures were very useful for me as I learned a lot about various aspects of the game, including both skill and the mental side. I consider myself fortunate to have been a part of Wasim Akram’s online session,” he was quoted as saying in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) press release.
“Wasim told us to bowl without fear and with confidence, he remains my [idol] and I strive to emulate his success by continuing to work hard on my game in the years ahead.”
In addition to Akram, Javed Miandad, Rashid Latif, Mushtaq Ahmed, Mohammad Yousuf, Moin Khan, Younis Khan and Shoaib Akhtar all held online lectures.
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