Aakash Chopra: “Swing at high speed”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Aakash Chopra, the former India batsman, has admitted that batsmen need to be wary of Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi as he swings the ball at “high speed.”
Capable of bowling over 150 kph, Afridi is Pakistan’s pace spearhead in all three formats.
The 23-year-old has developed a knack of picking up early wickets and being the go-to man when the men in green are searching for a breakthrough.
Given all the skills he possesses, Chopra conceded that Afridi is a dangerous bowler who can dismiss the best batsmen in the world.
“Swing at high speed,” he said on Twitter.
Afridi recently picked up six wickets in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka at an average of 37.33.
He followed that up with six wickets in three ODIs against Afghanistan at an average of 16.33.
Afridi is not featuring in the Asia Cup and has snapped up eight wickets in four games at an average of 22.87.
Pakistan have fared well in the tournament as they kicked off their campaign with a 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India as the match was washed out.
Despite this, the men in green progressed to the Super Fours and defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets.
However, they stumbled in their next match against India as they were easily beaten by 228 runs.
Pakistan will be aiming to turn things around when they face Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir