Aaqib Javed: “I was thrilled to witness his natural talent”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Lahore Qalandars head coach Aaqib Javed said he knew Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi had “natural talent” immediately upon seeing him in action.
Afridi has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom and has become one of the must-see fast bowlers in the world right now since he is a wicket-taking machine.
What makes him so mesmerising is the fact that he generates so much pace – around 150 kph – and swings the ball beautifully. On top of this, he also extracts extra bounce from the wicket, which makes him a nightmare for opposition batsmen.
“I was thrilled to witness his natural talent,” Aaqib was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi, 23, is currently playing in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and has been a dominant force with the ball, picking up 16 wickets in seven matches, which includes a five-wicket haul against Australia, at an average of 19.93.
Pakistan won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four straight games against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
They stopped their slide with a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in Kolkata.
Since they still have a chance of reaching the World Cup semi-finals, Pakistan will be determined to clinch another big win against New Zealand on November 4 in Bengaluru.
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