Mohammad Amir: “Like Babar Azam, Shaheen’s role in the team is very important. If he doesn’t set the tone with the ball, Pakistan team will struggle”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Mohammad Amir said fellow Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has as big of a role to play as captain Babar Azam.
Afridi is the leader of the pace attack and his job is to provide early wickets with the new ball – something he has become known for.
Amir pointed out that if the 23-year-old fails to do this, the men in green tend to struggle.
“Like Babar Azam, Shaheen’s role in the team is very important. If he doesn’t set the tone with the ball, Pakistan team will struggle,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi was recently involved in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and picked up 18 wickets in nine matches, which included a five-wicket haul against Australia, at an average of 26.72.
The men in green started the tournament in style as they won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
However, things went downhill from there as they succumbed to defeats against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Pakistan fought back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, which kept them in the race to make the semi-finals.
However, they failed to advance to the final four and to add insult to injury, they lost their final group stage game against England by 93 runs.
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