Inzamam-ul-Haq: “I saw him bowling in the nets during his U-16 cricket playing days. Mushtaq Ahmed and Mudassar Nazar recommended me to watch him and to be honest, I was impressed with him at first sight”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has revealed that he was impressed when he first saw left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi at the Under-16 level.
Afridi is 20 now and is the spearhead of Pakistan’s pace attack.
He has taken 35 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 31.34, 40 wickets in 19 ODIs at an average of 21.17 and 18 wickets in 15 T20 International at an average of 23.05.
“I saw him bowling in the nets during his U-16 cricket playing days. Mushtaq Ahmed and Mudassar Nazar recommended me to watch him and to be honest, I was impressed with him at first sight,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Ary Sports.
“He looked completely different from others in that camp. Looking at his pace and accuracy, we felt he should be promoted to U-19s. Later on, he made his debut when I was the chief selector and went onto achieve laurels in a short span of time. I am not taking any credit but if he used in the right way, he will serve Pakistan longer.”
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