Mohammad Yousuf: “Batters are now ready to hit sixes [off] Shaheen Afridi in [the] first over, which means [the] bowling technique of Shaheen has been damaged”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan batting icon Mohammad Yousuf said batsmen are ready to hit left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi for six in the first over of a match – something he believes was not the case previously.
He noted that Afridi, who is Pakistan’s ODI captain, needs to revisit and work on his bowling technique, saying it “has been damaged”.
The 26-year-old remains Pakistan’s pace spearhead, but his inconsistency and a noticeable dip in bowling speed have emerged as growing concerns in recent times.
“Batters are now ready to hit sixes [off] Shaheen Afridi in [the] first over, which means [the] bowling technique of Shaheen has been damaged,” Yousuf was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X.
Afridi recently led the men in green in their three-match ODI series against Australia and picked up seven wickets at an average of 12.14.
Even though he performed well in that series, he failed to make the cut for Pakistan’s Test series against the West Indies and England.
Pakistan are now playing two Tests against the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago.
They will then face England in a three-Test series between August 19 and September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah