Wasim Akram: “Iām sure one good spell and wickets with the new ball will get him back into rhythm”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan fast bowling legend Wasim Akram believes pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi is just one good spell away from wickets galore.
Afridi, who was recently named Pakistan’s T20I captain, had not been in the best of form prior to the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
He started off slow in the tournament too, but as he regained his confidence, the wickets began coming for him.
Overall, the 23-year-old ended up taking 18 wickets in nine matches, which included a five-wicket haul against champions Australia, at an average of 26.72.
Knowing full well what Afridi is capable of doing, Wasim is confident that he will be firing on all cylinders in no time at all.
“Iām sure one good spell and wickets with the new ball will get him back into rhythm,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan won their first two World Cup matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before succumbing to defeats at the hands of India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite fighting back to take down Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to make it to the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, Pakistan lost their final group stage match against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan will now tour Australia for three Tests, with the first one beginning on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series:Ā Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi