“Itna bhi jyada chadhane ka koi zarurat nahi hai” - Ravi Shastri’s brutal take on Shaheen Shah Afridi during IND vs PAK 2023 World Cup match
Ravi Shastri has questioned the assessment of Pakistan’s bowling attack being an excellent one. According to the former all-rounder, Babar Azam’s team is not looking as strong in the bowling department in Naseem Shah’s absence. He also described Shaheen Shah Afridi as a decent bowler but added that he was no Wasim Akram.
Pakistan went down to India by seven wickets in the 2023 World Cup match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Asked to bat first after losing the toss, Pakistan crumbled from 155/2 to 191 all out. Their bowlers too failed to make an impact as the Men in Blue cruised home in 30.3 overs.
Shastri criticized Pakistan’s bowling on air during the match in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Disagreeing with the observation that Pakistan has a very strong bowling attack, he opined:
“People tell me that Pakistan has an excellent attack. It’s not and you have to admit it. When Naseem Shah is not playing and this is the quality of spin... Shaheen Shah Afridi is no Wasim Akram. He is a good bowler with the new ball and can pick wickets. Lekin Itna bhi jyada chadhane ka koi zarurat nahi hai [There is no need to hype him so much]. He is only a decent bowler. He's no big deal. You have to accept the truth.”
Afridi was the Player of the Match when Pakistan thumped India by 10 wickets in the 2021 T20 World Cup clash in Dubai. However, he has not tasted much success against the Men in Blue subsequently. He registered figures of 2/36 in six overs in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Sunil Gavaskar also questions the potency of Pakistan's attack
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar also echoed similar sentiments to Shastri over Pakistan’s bowling attack in the 2023 World Cup. While praising Jasprit Bumrah for his smart use of slower balls, he added that Pakistan did not learn anything from the Indian pacer’s success.
“Clearly Pakistan did not learn anything because it was only towards the end when Shaheen bowled that cutter that got Rohit out. We would have thought that they would bowl the cutter even with the new ball. It is not written anywhere that the new ball has to be bowled at a certain pace. You can change it, but nothing of those sorts was seen from the Pakistan bowlers," Gavaskar was quoted as saying by HT.
Bumrah was the Player of the Match for claiming 2/19 in seven overs as India registered their third consecutive win in the 2023 World Cup.