Dinesh Karthik: “These are two quality bowlers they will come good”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik wants to see Pakistan keep backing the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf as they are “quality bowlers.”
Afridi was recently appointed as Pakistan’s T20I captain after Babar Azam stepped down as skipper in all three formats.
Both he and Rauf as key members in the fast bowling line-up in limited overs cricket, with Naseem Shah being the other piece.
However, with Naseem currently out of action for the foreseeable future with a shoulder injury, Karthik noted that a lot will depend on Afridi and Rauf in that time.
“These are two quality bowlers they will come good,” he told Cricbuzz as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Afridi and Rauf both featured in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup recently, with the former taking 18 wickets in nine matches at an average of 26.72.
As for Rauf, he picked up 16 wickets in nine games at an average of 33.31.
Pakistan started off by beating the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before faltering against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite bouncing back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to make it to the semi-finals.
Pakistan concluded their World Cup campaign on a low as 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