Waqar Younis: “He is over trying to get wickets. When you do the same thing again and again, like Shaheen is bowling to get his yorker going, then batsmen know that and they are ready for it”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis believes pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi is trying too hard to get wickets.
Waqar noted he is concerned about this as it could end up having a negative impact on the 23-year-old, who was appointed as Pakistan’s T20I captain after Babar Azam stepped down from the leadership role in all three formats following the team’s elimination from the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Afridi has always been under pressure to deliver, especially since he is considered to be one of the best new ball bowlers in the world.
But, Waqar pointed out that if he keeps overdoing the need for wickets, it could result in him getting none at all as he will start to become predictable.
“He is over trying to get wickets. When you do the same thing again and again, like Shaheen is bowling to get his yorker going, then batsmen know that and they are ready for it,” he told AFP as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
In the World Cup, Afridi picked up 18 wickets in nine matches, which included a five-for against champions Australia, at an average of 26.72.
Pakistan began by beating the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before stumbling against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite ending their four-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to book their spot in the semi-finals.
Pakistan’s campaign ended on a sour note as they lost to England by 93 runs.
Afridi will now feature in Pakistan’s upcoming three-match Test series against Australia, which starts on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: 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
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