Aakash Chopra: “I do feel the bowler to be wary of on Sunday isn’t Shaheen. It’s Haris Rauf”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India batsmen Aakash Chopra said the men in blue should not be overly worried about left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi in their 2022 T20 World Cup clash as there is a Pakistan bowler who is an even bigger threat.
Afridi has looked in dangerous form in the warm-up matches, but Chopra noted that Haris Rauf, who is capable of bowling at speeds close to 155 kph, is the bowler India need to be wary of.
Rauf became the men in green’s pace spearhead when Afridi was out of action with a right knee ligament injury.
Given his wicket-taking abilities and blistering pace, Chopra acknowledged that Rauf could prove to be a handful for the Indian batsmen.
“I do feel the bowler to be wary of on Sunday isn’t Shaheen. It’s Haris Rauf,” he said on Twitter.
India and Pakistan will go head to head on October 23 in Melbourne.
The last time they met in the T20 World Cup was back in 2021, where the men in green came out on top in dominant fashion as they triumphed by 10 wickets.
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir
Pakistan and England will favourite for final in this world cup