Pakistan pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi has warned that his impressive performance against arch-rivals India during the Asia Cup is just the beginning, with the World Cup looming on the horizon.
During their Group A clash, the left-arm fast bowler made a significant impact, taking 4-35, which included the crucial wickets of star batsmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
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Although the match ultimately ended in a washout, the anticipation for their upcoming encounter in Colombo during the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup is high. This event serves as a precursor to the 50-over World Cup, set to commence next month.
What did Shaheen Afridi say?
“Every match against India is special and people watch this a lot," the 23-year-old said.
“I used to wait for this match as a fan before I played under-16 cricket. I can’t say this has been my best spell so far. This is just the start and there will be many more, so the best is yet to come."
Shaheen and his fellow fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf have been absolutely lethal and have picked up 23 wickets cumulatively in the Asia Cup.
“We know our roles with the new and old ball," Shaheen said.
“Haris is quicker than us and impacts with his pace. Naseem and I try to get early breakthroughs. The communication is good between us. And that’s our success."
Afridi has come back from a knee injury and believes that the test matches earlier in 2023 against Sri Lanka helped him get back to his optimum fitness.
"It’s your match time that helps you improve. These Test matches against Sri Lanka recently made me improve as I bowled long spells and fielded all day," said Shaheen.
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Shaheen Afridi keen to shine against India in World Cup
Afridi has never had the opportunity to play cricket in India due to the frozen bilateral cricket ties between the two neighbouring countries.
He remains eager to shine on Indian soil and believes that the much-anticipated World Cup encounter offers him a chance to make an impact and contribute to Pakistan's success in the tournament.
“All the foreign players who have played in the IPL (Indian Premier League), we had discussions with them. I think our Pakistan wickets or Dubai pitches will be similar," he said.
“Spinners will get more help, maybe. We will hit good lengths. Our team performance is going well as the number one (ODI) team. We have prepared well."
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