AB de Villiers: “Not quite the same rhythm we’ve seen from Shaheen Afridi in the past. I don’t know if he’s maybe a little bit undercooked or if there’s a tiny little injury we don’t know of”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
AB de Villiers, the South Africa batting great, admitted that he is concerned about Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi’s rhythm when bowling, asking whether he is undercooked.
De Villiers’ comments came during the Asia Cup and he even questioned whether the 23-year-old had a “tiny little injury we don’t know of.”
Regardless of the reason behind it, the 39-year-old from Pretoria urged Afridi to resolve the issue as Pakistan need him back at his best, especially with the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India fast approaching.
“Not quite the same rhythm we’ve seen from Shaheen Afridi in the past. I don’t know if he’s maybe a little bit undercooked or if there’s a tiny little injury we don’t know of. I guess it might be a little niggle that he picked up and he didn’t look like the Shaheen Afridi that we know,” he said in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Afridi recently claimed six wickets in two Tests against Sri Lanka at an average of 37.33.
He then went on to play in a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan and finished with six wickets at an average of 16.33.
Most recently, he was involved in the Asia Cup and took 10 wickets in five matches at an average of 23.50.
Pakistan kicked off their campaign with a convincing 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India as their match was washed out.
Having made it to the Super Four stage, the men in green thumped Bangladesh by seven wickets.
Things didn’t go well for them after this as they lost to India by 228 runs and Sri Lanka by two wickets via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method, which led to them missing out on a spot in the final and being eliminated from the Asia Cup.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 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