Pakistan has begun slowly, hemmed in by the Indian pacers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar toppled the dangerous Babar Azam, Arshdeep Singh was tight with his lengths, Aveesh Khan removed Fahkar Zaman. Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed steady ship. But Pandya’s triple blow-Rizwan, Iftikhar and Khushdil Shah- cut short their charge. While Shadab Khan and Asif Ali nudged about briefly, Kumar forced an error from Ali . eventually folded for 147.  Shaheen Shah Afridi– close friends with the Indian cricketers- would offer a wicket-taking threat from the get-go. The left-arm seamer ripped through the Indian top order in their last encounter in the World Cup. His replacement Muhammad Hasnain is no mug, enjoying a breakout season in The Hundred. 

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A knee injury keeps him out for five weeks- in time for October’s T20 World Cup in Australia. During that time, Pakistan folded against Sri Lanka in the second test and was run close by minnows Netherlands. Pakistan legend and fellow left-arm ace Wasim Akram terms it a setback for the side. His ability to attack the stumps consistently brings X-factor and wickets at both ends of the innings:

“Shaheen Afridi will be missed a lot. He is important because of the new ball. In this format, if you have to restrict the opposition by taking early wickets and that is what the does. He attacks the stumps in all formats,” Star Sports quotes.

It robs the bowling unit of variation, a niggling ability to make the dart back at pace, decieving batters in the air. Inexperienced quick Muhammad Hasnain replaces Afridi, but lacks the latter’s presence:

“There is still pace in the bowling department but there is no variation (in the absence of Shaheen’s left arm pace). They all are right handers,” he said.

In The Hundred, The 22-year-old took 6 wickets in 70 balls at a strike rate of 11.67. He remains an unknown quality, however. But if ever there was a time to announce yourself into the big-time, tonight would be the night!

Pakistan has begun slowly, hemmed in by the Indian pacers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar toppled the dangerous Babar Azam, Arshdeep Singh was tight with his lengths, and Aveesh Khan removed Fahkar Zaman. Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed steady ship. But Pandya’s triple blow-Rizwan, Iftikhar and Khushdil Shah- cut short their charge. While Shadab Khan and Asif Ali nudged about briefly, Kumar forced an error from Ali. Likely to defend a small total, Shaheen Shah Afridi would offer a wicket-taking threat from the get-go. The left-arm seamer ripped through the Indian top order in their last encounter in the World Cup. His replacement Muhammad Hasnain is no mug, enjoying a breakout season in The Hundred.

A knee injury keeps him out for five weeks- in time for October’s T20 World Cup in Australia. During that time, Pakistan folded against Sri Lanka in the second test and was run close by minnows Netherlands. Pakistan legend and fellow left-arm ace Wasim Akram terms it a setback for the side. His ability to attack the stumps consistently brings X-factor and wickets at both ends of the innings:

“Shaheen Afridi will be missed a lot. He is important because of the new ball. In this format, if you have to restrict the opposition by taking early wickets and that is what the does. He attacks the stumps in all formats,” Star Sports quotes.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: Rohit Sharma 10 runs away from becoming highest scorer in T20Is

It robs the bowling unit of variation, a niggling ability to make the dart back at pace, deceiving batters in the air. Inexperienced quick Muhammad Hasnain replaces Afridi, but lacks the latter’s presence:

“There is still pace in the bowling department but there is no variation (in the absence of Shaheen’s left arm pace). They all are right-handers,” he said. In The Hundred, The 22-year-old took 6 wickets in 70 balls at a strike rate of 11.67. He remains an unknown quality, however. But if ever there was a time to announce yourself into the big-time, tonight would be the night!