Former Indian cricketer and former coach, Ravi Shastri, didn’t hold back in his assessment of Pakistani bowlers, suggesting that the extensive praise might be excessive and emphasizing that Shaheen Afridi doesn’t quite measure up to the legendary Wasim Akram.
During a pre-World Cup event hosted at Narendra Modi Stadium, Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam, expressed tremendous pleasure in his bowling unit when Ravi Shastri inquired about his team’s strengths. However, in their first three encounters, Pakistan’s bowlers have experienced hurdles. While they managed to restrict the Netherlands to 205 in pursuit of 286, their performance against Sri Lanka was less remarkable as they conceded 344 runs.
In their latest clash against India, the Pakistani bowling attack struggled against the onslaught of Rohit Sharma, who struck 86 runs off 63 balls with an astounding six sixes and six fours. This was followed by Shreyas Iyer’s undefeated 53. India comfortably chased down the 192-run goal with about 20 overs to spare.
Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of India, was extremely critical of Pakistan’s bowling performance during the current season. In the Hindi commentary box, he gave his perspective, adding that while many people hold the Pakistani bowling unit in high regard, the reality on the field has been different.
“People tell me that Pakistan has a resounding bowling attack. Nakli baat hai ye sab (It’s not true at all). It’s not good and you have to accept that. You don’t have Naseem Shah at the moment, and you got a quality spin attack.
Shaheen Shah Afridi koi Wasim Akram nahi hai (Shaheen Shah Afridi is no Wasim Akram). I agree that he bowls with the new ball and picks up wickets but no need to give him that kind of hype. Something which is ok, you have to call it ok. No need to give them too much importance because this attack is not the best one,” he said on air.
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