Shaheen Afridi is a great asset, but arrogance is missing: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar lavished praise on pace merchant Shaheen Shah Afridi ahead of the eagerly-anticipated clash between the arch-rivals – India and Pakistan in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2023.

Ahead of the contest, Shoaib spoke on multiple facets in a light-hearted discussion in a recent interview. In the midst of the conversation, the former pacer heaped praise on Shaheen’s performances, however, wanted more ‘arrogance’ from the speedster.

“Shaheen (Afridi) is a great asset. But you know, the arrogance is missing (laughs). That’s all. I mean even if I was bowling under 135 kmph but I’ll be cursing at 145kmph! So that is missing,” Shoaib Akhtar told on ‘Wake Up With Sorabh’ (YouTube Channel).

"Give a little bit of kick here and there. What will happen? The least that could happen is you get fined. Give the fine. Give a rugby tackle – nothing will happen (laughs). Just have a bit of flair in the cricket you play. Fights happen in every sport, but so much manners in cricket, I do not like it,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that Shaheen ripped through the batting order during the first clash against team India in the group stage. The pacer got the crucial scalps of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja and gave mere 35 runs in his 10 overs which included two maidens, concluding at a stellar economy of 3.50. 

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In his three appearances thus far, Shaheen has collected seven wickets and is among the leading wicket-takers in the ongoing ACC event. While the previous clash between the two sides yielded no result due to persistent showers at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, it remains to be seen if the rain gods will make their presence felt in Colombo, keeping in mind the weather forecast.

Pakistan are riding high on the back of a magnificent win against Bangladesh in the first match of the Super Four. On the flip side, team India kickstart their campaign in the knockout round and will be gunning to push through for a result in their favour. 

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