Former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, has compared Shaheen Shah’s return to form to that of Indian batting great, Virat Kohli, saying the left-arm pacer can do wonders in upcoming crucial games.
The two-time World Cup-winning captain stated that Shaheen, as well as the coaching staff, might be worried about his fitness but “He’s got through really well so far, and hopefully for them two more games to go.”
The 22-year-old pacer returned to the squad after three months due to a knee injury sustained during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, forcing him to miss an important season of cricket before the T20 World Cup.
Shaheen’s performance in the first few games of the ongoing tournament was below par, and former cricketers and experts expressed concerns about his fitness and criticized the national team management for picking him.
During the crucial match against Bangladesh, Shaheen bowled with good pace and collected superb figures of 4/22, earning him the player of the match award.
Answering a question regarding his fitness, Ponting added, “And as I said, even if he’s not at 100 percent, if he’s operating at 90 percent, he’s still going to have more of an impact on games than most because of how good he is.”
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