Viv Richards: “The leading wicket-taker in the World Cup will be Shaheen Afridi”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Viv Richards, the legendary West Indies batsman, has backed Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi to take the most wickets in the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Afridi has only claimed two wickets in two matches so far, but Richards said he knows what the 23-year-old is capable of as he has seen him in action.
In addition to this, the 71-year-old pointed out that the left-arm speedster is a “highly determined individual” who has experienced “massive growth.”
“The leading wicket-taker in the World Cup will be Shaheen Afridi because I have seen him in Pakistan. I spent some time in the PSL and I have seen his massive growth. [He is a] highly determined individual. He is my man,” Richards said in a video on the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Instagram account.
Pakistan won their opening match against the Netherlands by 81 runs before defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets, during which they chased down a mammoth total of 345, making it the highest successful run chase ever in the World Cup.
Afridi will no doubt be aiming to pick up a bunch of wickets when Pakistan take on India on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali
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