Wasim Akram sees himself in Shaheen Afridi

Wasim Akram was one of the greatest fast bowlers the game has ever seen. His toe-crushers were the last thing that a batsman wanted to face and his swing deceived them more often than not. Akram has taken close to 900 wickets in his fairytale international career. Alongside Waqar Younis, he formed a fearsome bowling partnership and at a stage, the duo was literally unplayable. Touring teams struggled against the Waqar-Wasim duo.

The upcoming edition of the U19 World Cup is to be held in New Zealand. It is a great chance for the young cricketers to represent their country and stake a claim to be a part of the senior team. Players like Virat Kohli and Sarfraz Ahmed had caught the eyes of the selectors through their performances at the U-19 level.

Akram impressed with Shaheen’s action

Pakistan legend said that the youngster Shaheen Afridi took him down the memory lane to his days as a young fast bowler.

“He is a left arm bowler, he is tall and he remembers me of my youth, as his bowling action is also identical, coming in sideways, extract bounce,” stated Akram to the press.

His most important advice to young fast bowlers is to pitch the delivery up in New Zealand as swing is the biggest weapon in the Island country.

Akram used to rip apart the batting side by pitching up his deliveries more often. He is also optimistic about Pakistan’s chances in the upcoming U19 World Cup. The young team was not in a great form at the U19 Asia cup as they suffered heavy defeats at the hands of Afghanistan.

The Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 starts on January 13th in New Zealand. It’s remains to be seen which team has got its preparations right and who can go all the way to glory.

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