Harsha Bhogle: “Shaheen Afridi, if he doesn’t take wickets with a new ball, the side is a little bit in trouble”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Well-known cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle said trouble starts brewing for Pakistan if left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi doesn’t take early wickets with the new ball.
Afridi has been Pakistan’s best bowler by far in the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup as the 23-year-old has claimed 16 wickets in eight matches, which includes a five-wicket haul against Australia, at an average of 25.56.
With a few more games left, Bhogle noted that it will be up to the lanky fast bowler to keep striking early for the men in green in order to give them a better chance of winning their matches, which they need to do to progress to the semi-finals.
“Shaheen Afridi, if he doesn’t take wickets with a new ball, the side is a little bit in trouble,” he told Cricbuzz as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan won their first two World Cup games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four in a row to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
The men in green halted their poor run with wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand, which kept them in the race for the semi-finals.
Pakistan’s last group stage game will be against England on November 11 in Kolkata.
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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