Wasim Akram: “He didn’t appear to have that zip in his bowling”
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Karachi Kings president Wasim Akram said fellow Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi didn’t seem to have “that zip in his bowling”.
He noted that this was evident during the 2022 T20 World Cup, which Afridi returned for after suffering a knee injury.
While he still took wickets during the tournament – 11 in seven matches at an average of 14.09 – the 22-year-old ended up re-injuring his knee during the final against England.
Despite this, Wasim was concerned by what he saw, which was Afridi bowling without a whole lot of extra bounce and genuine pace.
“He didn’t appear to have that zip in his bowling,” the Sultan of Swing was quoted as saying by NDTV.
After missing Pakistan’s entire home season, Afridi is now captaining the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he finished with figures of 1-27 off his four overs in the opening game against the Multan Sultans.
Following a nail-biting one-run win over the Sultans, his side will be in action again on February 19 when they take on the Karachi Kings.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 8: Fakhar Zaman, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, David Wiese, Hussain Talat, Haris Rauf, Abdullah Shafique, Liam Dawson, Sikander Raza, Ahmad Daniyal, Dilbar Hussain, Harry Brook, Kamran Ghulam, Mirza Tahir Baig, Shawaiz Irfan, Zaman Khan, Jalat Khan and Jordan Cox, Ahsan Bhatti, Sam Billings, Shane Dadswell and Kusal Mendis