'It was difficult' - Shaheen Afridi on Pakistan's heartbreaking loss against Australia in T20 WC 2021 semi-final

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi is probably living the golden patch of his career where his accomplishments have come one after the other at the age of only 21. In fact, 2021 was a surreal year for him across formats and he also got recognized as best men’s player of the year by the ICC. Though Shaheen had many achievements under his hat in 2021, his brave contribution during T20 WC against India in group stages stands out.

Talking of the same tournament, it is known to fans that Pakistan had a brilliant run in the marquee event and reached unbeaten in the semi-finals stage. However, Australia ended their journey in the semi-finals where Matthew Wade played a blinder to take his team over the line.

In a recent interview, the 21-year-old pacer was asked about ‘how difficult was the semi-final loss against Australia?’ He added that luck didn’t favor them even though they gave in their best. However, the pacer seemed happy with Pakistan’s eventful year in 2021 where several ICC awards went to his nation. He concluded by adding that the men in green will continue to bring the best action to the table in 2022 as well.

The entire year was very good for Pakistan: Shaheen Afridi

“It was. (difficult). Luck wasn’t on our side, we can say that. We tried to give our best. Shadab bowled so well, Fakhar batted so well.”

“But overall, the tournament and the entire year was very good for Pakistan. You must have seen a lot of ICC awards have all come to one place. As a team, we have high hopes for this year too. There are a lot of games coming up. Tests, Asia Cup, World Cup. We are ready for it,” said Shaheen Afridi in an interview with Cricbuzz.

In the same match against Australia, the young pacer took one wicket while conceding 35 runs in his quota of four overs.  In the same game, Shadab Khan picked four wickets for Pakistan and Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman had half-centuries to their credit.