"You’ve got to be conservative against Shaheen Afridi" - Matthew Hayden advises India ahead of IND vs PAK in Asia Cup 2023
Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has worked as a mentor with Pakistan and feels Team India need to be careful while playing against Shaheen Afridi with the new ball.
Shaheen rocked the Indian top-order, especially with an absolute peach to trap Rohit Sharma in front, during their 2021 T20 World Cup encounter. This has raised concerns on how the Men in Blue would negotiate the left-arm pacer, who has made it almost a habit to strike with the new ball.
Speaking to Star Sports. here's what Matthew Hayden had to say about how India can tackle Shaheen Afridi:
"You’ve got to be conservative against Shaheen Afridi. Remember back to the World Cup more recently; Shaheen was able to take early wickets. We’ll never forget that ball that he bowled to captain Rohit Sharma. If it’s swinging, look to play out those first three overs."
He further added:
"All in all, though, I think it’s going to be Team India that’s going to win. I think they’ve got a deeper, classier batting lineup, and I think they’ve got form on the board as well.”
India vs Pakistan is one of the spiciest competitions on the planet: Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden is looking forward to the fierce rivalry between India and Pakistan when they face off against each other in Kandy on Saturday in the Asia Cup. He also explained how the bounce on the Kandy surface would help the likes of Haris Rauf.
On this, Hayden stated:
"Well, I can tell you this is one of the spiciest competitions on the planet. We’ve got Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem. Three very different types of bowlers and unique bowlers which require unique plans from Team India.
"Firstly, the conditions here in Kandy tend to have quite a lot of bounce, so you’ve got to watch that out, especially Haris Rauf. He’ll want to really hustle in and hit the top of off stump."
It will be interesting to see how Rohit Sharma and co. negotiate Shaheen Afridi's threat and whether they play conservatively or take the attack to the speedster.