Shahid Afridi fires fresh T20 World Cup warning to title contenders: ‘Nobody has such strong bowling line-up…’
Ex-Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi also shared his views about Shadab Khan's underwhelming performance in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.
Shahid Afridi feels the onus is on Babar Azam and Co. to end Pakistan's trophy drought in ICC events this season. The former world champions contested the final of the T20 World Cup against eventual winners England in 2022. Superstar batter Babar guided the Green Army to the summit clash of the T20 World Cup hosted by Australia. However, Babar failed to replicate his heroics in the 2023 World Cup as Pakistan failed to enter the business end of the 50-over spectacle in India.
After Pakistan's no-show in the India World Cup, premier batter Babar stepped down as the leader of the Green Army. Babar was reinstated as Pakistan's white-ball captain when the T20 World Cup was two months away. A returning Babar captained the Green Army in his first assignment as captain against New Zealand. Former champions Pakistan are warming up with the bilateral series for the T20 World Cup in England. In a video posted by the International Cricket Council (ICC), former Pakistan skipper Afridi lavished praise on the bowling unit of the Green Army.
‘Nobody has such a strong bowling line-up’
Afridi suggested that Pakistan can even test its bench strength at the T20 World Cup. "I think in any cricket team in the world, nobody has such a strong bowling line-up. All our four fast bowlers have a lot of skill and even the bowlers sitting on the bench like Abbas (Afridi) have a lot of skill with a good slower ball. If the players with such good skills enter this World Cup against world-class batters they will perform well. All the names will also have a huge responsibility over them," Afridi said.
Afridi also reserved special praise for all-rounder Shadab Khan. Spinner Shadab went wicketless against England in the 2nd T20I at Edgbaston. The Pakistani spinner recorded his worst-ever bowling figures in the shortest format. He leaked 55 runs in his four overs against England. Afridi, who has watched all of Shadab's performances in the green jersey, asserted that he wants the Pakistan all-rounder to deliver the goods with the ball.
Afridi wants Shadab to deliver
"I need Shadab to deliver with the ball. Whenever he has performed with the ball, Pakistan have won. I have watched all of his matches in the past. We had a detailed chat yesterday, I asked him who is guiding him or if there is something he is not doing, how are you making such mistakes is there no one to tell you? I called yesterday because I know he is going through a difficult time so I always try to help and motivate players who are having a hard time. Similarly, I talked with Shadab about what he is doing wrong and I hope that if he does [what he discussed] in training sessions, you will see the difference." he added.