Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has praised Pakistani pace bowler Shaheen Afridi for his exceptional performance in the 31st match of the ICC World Cup 2023, where he secured three crucial wickets against Bangladesh in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Akash Chopra, on his YouTube channel, expressed his appreciation for Shaheen’s exceptional performance, which reminded him of Wasim Akram. He described the delivery that dismissed Mahmudullah as a beautiful ball that resembled Wasim Akram’s style.
Akash said, “He picked up wickets with the new ball and the way he dismissed Mahmudullah with the old ball, I thought that was beautiful.”
He added, “He came around the stumps and took the ball away. It reminded me slightly of Wasim Akram. Wasim Jr — he gets the ball to reverse swing nicely because he has a slightly round-arm action. He hit the ball on the stumps that was quite impressive.”
Shaheen managed to secure three crucial wickets, and among them was Mahmudullah, the standout performer from Bangladesh, who had notched up 56 runs off 70 balls. This remarkable feat also brought Shaheen’s total World Cup wicket count to 16, a stat he now shares with Australia’s spinner, Adam Zampa.
It should be noted that Shaheen achieved the milestone of 100 ODI wickets in just 51 innings, surpassing Mitchell Starc’s record of achieving the same feat in 52 innings.
Furthermore, he became the quickest Pakistani bowler to reach 100 wickets in ODIs, outpacing the legendary spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who accomplished this in 53 matches.
Following these accomplishments, Shaheen Afridi achieved the top spot as the world’s number-one-ranked ODI bowler on Wednesday, following the ICC’s latest update.
The Green Shirts must win their remaining two matches against New Zealand and England to enhance their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals. They are currently on the brink of elimination. Shaheen still has an opportunity to maintain his top form in these two matches and play a significant role in securing victories.
