"I don't think Rohit is able to read or understand Shaheen at all" - Shoaib Akhtar on Team India captain's dismissal in IND vs PAK in Asia Cup 2023
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar feels that Team India captain Rohit Sharma struggles big time to read Shaheen Afridi with the new ball. Rohit was castled by Afridi with a ball that came back in off the seam after a rain-induced break at the Pallekele International Stadium on Saturday.
The Indian skipper was dismissed by the left-arm pacer's inswinging yorker when the two arch-rivals met at the 2021 T20 World Cup. Rohit already has a dodgy record against left-arm seamers, and Afridi being one of the best in the business does not help him one bit.
Rohit tried to play for the inswing, but Afridi got the ball to move away with the angle a couple of times. Ultimately, the ball did enough to move back in, breaching the bat-pad gap and hitting the stumps, forcing Rohit to walk back to the pavilion after scoring only 11 runs off 22 deliveries.
Assessing Rohit's woes against Afridi, Akhtar said on his YouTube channel:
"I don't think Rohit is able to read or understand Shaheen at all. The visual of Rohit Sharma being beaten like this was not good, he is a far better player than this. Rohit can bat much better than this, I think he is worrying too much."
Rain had the final say in the proceedings as the match was called off after the end of the first innings itself. Showers made multiple appearances while India were batting as well, leading to short breaks.
Opining that such breaks affected the focus of the batters, like Shubman Gill, Akhtar said:
"The constant interruptions by rain, leading to the players going off the ground and coming back in, it affects the focus of the batters. Gill lost his wicket exactly because of this reason, he lost his concentration, and that is why he played such a loose shot."
Gill struggled for rhythm right from the word go and required 11 deliveries to get off the mark. He was bowled by Haris Rauf in the 15th over after scoring 10 runs off 32 deliveries.
"In his defense he had last played him in 2022" - Shoaib Akhtar understands Rohit Sharma's troubles against Shaheen
Rohit Sharma has faced Shaheen Afridi in ODis before, but it was back in 2018 when he was quite a raw bowler. Years later, he has developed into one of the premier fast bowlers in the world and is arguably the best in the business when it comes to the new ball.
Rohit last faced Afridi during India and Pakistan's clash at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Melbourne. Shoaib Akhtar added that the lack of India-Pakistan matches makes it harder for the batters to understand the bowlers.
"What a spell it was by Shaheen Afridi, what a bowler he is. Everyone knows what he will do, pitch it full and bring it back in, and in spite that Rohit Sharma had no answer. Buthwhat is Rohit Sharma supposed to do, in his defense he had last played him in 2022, he does not get the opportunity to face him too often," Akhtar explained.
Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers after finishing with figures of 4-35, which included two maiden overs as well.
The Men in Green, who earlier beat Nepal, secured passage to the Super Fours stage with the help of the point they received for the washed-out match against India.