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'Speed can't help you...': Shaheen Afridi's unusual reply to question on Umran Malik's pace
Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi was asked about India's rising star Umran Malik's pace. The Pakistan left-arm came up with an unexpected answer. “Speed can’t help you if you don’t have line and length and swing,” he said.
Rising Indian pace sensation Umran Malik and New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson peppered the speed guns in the recently-concluded IPL 2022 regularly. Both Malik and Ferguson bowled multiple deliveries over the 150 km/h mark. The uncapped Indian held the record for the fastest delivery of the tournament before Ferguson snatched it with a 157.3 km/h thunderbolt in the GT vs RR final. Pakistan is another country that is known to produce some of the fastest bowlers the game has ever seen but their current pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has a different take.
The recipient of the Sir Garfield Sobers award for the men's cricketer of the year in 2021 said pace won't be able to help you if you can't swing the ball. “Speed can’t help you if you don’t have line and length and swing,” said Shaheen when he was asked about Lockie Ferguson and Umran Malik's mindboggling speeds in the IPL.
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The left-arm fast bowler was speaking to the press ahead of Pakistan's three-match ODI series at home against West Indies which was supposed to take place in December last year but could not be completed due to multiple Covid-cases in the visitors' camp.
Shaheen was the pick of the bowlers in Pakistan's last home series against Australia, trobling the batters with his swing early on. He is hoping to carry the same against the Windies even though the extreme weather conditions might create a few problems for thhe fast bowlers.
“The weather is hot but we are looking forward to playing good cricket in it. It would be a tough challenge for the fast bowlers to bowl long spells in summer but as a professional, we are ready to face it,” he maintained.
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Terming the Nicholas Pooran-led West Indies side a "strong" unit, Shaheen said they would like to win this series and collect important points in the World Championbships.
“This is an important series in terms of World Cup qualification which is why we don’t want to lose any match. Also, West Indies are a strong international side and it is not as if they are sending under-19 players for this series,” he said.
The first ODI will begin on June 8. All three matches are slated to be played in Multan.
