Bazid Khan: “In Pakistan, Shahid Afridi became a big name and most of our batters started to follow him which somehow was damaging for us”
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Former Pakistan cricketer Bazid Khan has urged the current crop of batsmen to stop following iconic power-hitter Shahid Afridi as it has been “damaging for us.”
He noted that Afridi’s flamboyant big-hitting style has become hugely appealing to many young players, especially with T20 cricket continuing to grow in popularity.
As a result of this, their batting techniques have suffered in comparison to batsmen from other countries like India, who idolise and follow in the footsteps of Sachin Tendulkar.
“In Pakistan, Shahid Afridi became a big name and most of our batters started to follow him which somehow was damaging for us,” Bazid was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
The Pakistan team were recently in action in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and began by winning their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
Things went completely downhill from there as they lost their next four games against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite bouncing back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, the men in green were unable to advance to the semi-finals.
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
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