Ravi Shastri: “Shaheen Shah Afridi is no Wasim Akram”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has blasted Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi, saying he is not the next Wasim Akram.
Afridi, the newly-appointed Pakistan T20I captain, has often been compared to Wasim, who is widely regarded as the best fast bowler Pakistan ever produced.
However, even though Afridi has developed a knack of taking early wickets with the new ball, Shastri still doesn’t think the 23-year-old is anywhere near the Sultan of Swing.
“Shaheen Shah Afridi is no Wasim Akram,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
In the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, Afridi picked up 18 wickets in nine matches at an average of 26.72.
Pakistan started off with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four in a row to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite fighting back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, the men in green failed in their bid to reach the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, Pakistan 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