Ian Bishop: “If he is fit for the next ten years, he will go past that”
Image courtesy of: Pikwizard
Well-known cricket commentator Ian Bishop has backed left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi to do something no Pakistan fast bowler has done over the last 20 years.
Bishop feels that if Afridi is managed well and stays fit, he could become the first Pakistan speedster in more than two decades to take 200 Test wickets.
Currently, the 22-year-old has claimed 99 wickets in 25 Tests at an average of 24.86.
“That stat is a surprising stat, based on the talent that if you go through the years and you talk about guys who came after Waqar and Wasim, you can start from Umar Gul coming right through the ranks,” Bishop, a former West Indies pace bowler, told Cricwick.
“There should’ve been at least [a] couple more who would’ve done that and it is important why I use the term mature and mentor these fast bowlers because the talent is there.
“You look at Shaheen Afridi. What would it take [for] Shaheen to get there? Management and mentoring. Making sure that he is fit for the next ten years. If he is fit for the next ten years, he will go past that.”
Afridi did not feature in the first ODI between Pakistan and the Netherlands, which the men in green won by 16 runs.
After the three-match series concludes, he and the rest of the Pakistan team will feature in the Asia Cup, which will be held in the UAE from August 27 to September 11.
Pakistan squad for Netherlands ODIs: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mehmood
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir
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