'Shaheen Shah Afridi Koi Wasim Akram Nahi Hai': Shastri Roasts PAK Bowling, Calls it Okay but Not the Best

Pakistan captain Babar Aazam proudly praised his bowling unit at a pre-World Cup event – the Captain’s Day held at Narendra Modi Stadium – when Ravi Shastri asked him about the strength of his team. But unlike Babar’s description, his bowlers are getting exposed when they are up against a quality batting line-up. The situation was no different on Saturday evening when they locked horns with arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad.

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After getting bowled out for 191, Pakistan could pick up just 3 wickets while defending the total. Rohit Sharma, who is often criticised for stumbling against Shaheen Shah Afridi, easily handled the left-arm pace. The latter managed to get rid of the Indian captain but it was too late by then. Rohit began India’s chase with a boundary off Afridi and went on to score 86 off 63 with the help of 6 sixes and as many boundaries. Shreya Iyer played an unbeaten 53-run knock and sealed the game with a boundary.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri made some brutal remarks on Pakistan’s bowling that has been under the pump in the ongoing tournament. Sharing his views in the Hindi commentary box, he said people rate the Pakistani bowling unit very highly but the reality is actually different.

“People tell me that Pakistan have a resounding bowling attack. Nakli baat hai ye sab (It’s not true at all). It’s not good and you have to accept that. You don’t have Naseem Shah at the moment, neither you got a quality spin attack,” Shastri said on air.

“Shaheen Shah Afridi koi Wasim Akram nahi hai (Shaheen Shah Afridi is no Wasim Akram). I agree that he bowls with the new ball and picks up wickets but no need to give him that kind of hype. Something which is ok, you have to call it ok. No need to give them too much importance because this attack is not the best one,” he added.

Pakistan bowlers yet to click in the World Cup

Most of the Pakistan bowlers are touring India for the first time and maybe that’s the reason why they are yet to fire on all cylinders. Before getting hammered by India, Sri Lanka batters had no problem scoring nearly 350 runs against the men in green. The likes of Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarwickrma scored centuries while opener Pathum Nisanka got a fifty in their last fixture in Hyderabad on October 10.

In fact, a couple of Netherlands batters managed to get fifty-plus scores in the campaign opener on October 6 which the Babar Azam-led side won by 81 runs.