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Cricket Players'No need to be afraid of Shaheen Afridi. Kohli, Rohit need to...': Ex-Pakistan cricketer ahead of Ind vs Pak in Asia Cup
One of the key architects of Pakistan's T20 World Cup win against India was Shaheen Afridi, who had dismissed India's top-order batters in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul. But ahead of the Asia Cup meeting, an ex-Pakistan cricketer revealed how the trio can counter Afridi.
India's first assignment at the Asia Cup 2022 will be against arch-rivals Pakistan at the same Dubai International Stadium, where Babar Azam's men had scripted a historic 10-wicket win against the Men in Blue at the 2021 T20 World Cup group-stage tie. It was Pakistan's first ever win against India in any World Cup meeting (ODI and T20). One of the key architects of that win was Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had dismissed India's top-order batters in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul. But ahead of the Asia Cup meeting, former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria revealed how the trio can counter Afridi's exploits with the new ball.
Afridi has been one of the best new-ball bowlers in T20I cricket. And one of the main reason behind his dominance is his fuller deliveries with the new ball in the powerplay. In their last meeting, Afridi had dismissed both Rohit and Rahul in his first two overs as India went two down for just six in 2.1 overs.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria revealed how Kohli and Rohit can negate Afridi's fuller deliveries. The former leg-spinner gave the example of Suryakumar Yadav, who has a very good flick shot, that can come in handy against the left-arm seamers.
"No need to be afraid of Shaheen Afridi because Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are world-class batters. They just need to be aware that Shaheen will look to bowl fuller and get the ball to swing into them. So they should be prepared to not commit with their leg but negotiate it with the bat by playing closer to the body. Suryakumar Yadav's flick shots over square leg will also be important against Shaheen's bowling," he said.
Left-arm pacers have historically caused a lot of problems to the Indian top-order. Rohit, Rahul and Kohli have had a hard time in dealing with the likes of Trent Boult and Shaeen Afridi. In recent times, it was England's Reece Topley and and West Indies' Obed McCoy who gave a hard time to the Indian right-handers.
