Dinesh Karthik: “He is somebody who finds late swing and he hasn’t found the swing”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik believes newly-appointed Pakistan T20I captain Shaheen Shah Afridi wasn’t able to find as much swing as he wanted during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Afridi was still highly effective with the ball during the tournament, but Karthik pointed out that the 23-year-old is used to getting late swing and using it to take wickets.
In the nine matches he played, Afridi picked up 18 wickets at an average of 26.72.
“He is somebody who finds late swing and he hasn’t found the swing,” Karthik told Cricbuzz as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan won their first two World Cup games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing their next four against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
They stopped their losing streak with victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, but it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
Pakistan’s World Cup campaign ended on a low note as they lost their last group stage game against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup:Â 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