The young 17-year-old bowling prodigy, Shaheen Afridi, has received praise from the Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid. Shaheen Afridi, the U-19 fast bowler, was on the receiving end of good words from Indian U-19 coach Rahul Dravid.
Shaheen Afridi and Team of The Tournament
The Best XI for the ICC U-19 World Cup was recently announced and only Shaheen Afridi from Pakistan made the cut. Shaheen managed to collect 12 wickets in the tournament before Pakistan was thrashed by India in the semis.
The manager of the U-19 team says, Shaheen Afridi impressed some big names with his pace, seam and swing. Nadeem Khan, manager of the team, says
Shaheen has been outstanding in the tournament and he has helped Pakistan claim crucial wins before that too, many legends of the game and team managers came to me during the tournament to applaud Shaheen’s skills.
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Nadeem says that Rahul Dravid was among the admirers of Shaheen as well. The manager said;
Even [Indian coach] Rahul Dravid came to me after the match and said Shaheen has all it takes to be a future star and become a real asset to the national side.
Afridi on His Selection For the Team
Shaheen Afridi says it felt like he got selected for the national when he was included in team of the tournament. The left-arm pacer said;
Being named in the U19 World Cup’s team of the tournament is a great achievement. I have always worked hard to make a mark. When I got to know about my selection, I was really happy. It felt like being selected for the national side.
The fast bowler was also a bit disappointed for not reaching the final. He expressed his disappointment saying;
I tried to help Pakistan reach the World Cup final but we couldn’t take our chances. However, I am happy to be representing Pakistan in the team of the tournament
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Shaheen was thankful to his supporting staff, family and coaches for his success. He said;
This is not my success alone. It was the effort of the entire team that made me achieve this. The coaches and manager gave me the confidence that I needed throughout the tournament. Hopefully I can kick on from this and play even better in upcoming assignments.
ICC U-19 World Cup XI
Here is the complete list of all players included in the team of the tournament.
- Prithvi Shaw (India) –261 runs
- Manjot Kalra (India) – 252 runs
- Shubman Gill (India) – 372 runs
- Finn Allen (New Zealand) – 338 runs
- Raynard van Tonder (South Africa, captain) – 348 runs
- Wandile Makwetu (wicket-keeper) (South Africa) – 184 runs and 11 dismissals (all catches)
- Anukul Roy (India) – 14 wickets
- Kamlesh Nagarkoti (India)– 9 wickets
- Gerald Coetzee (South Africa) – 8 wickets
- Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan) – 14 wickets
- Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan) – 12 wickets
