After Omani pacer Shah Faisal removed Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill cheaply with a full delivery that swung a bit late in the Group A clash in the Asia Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has urged Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi to learn from that and try a similar length against the Indian batsmen in the Super Four encounter against arch-rivals India on Sunday. With Afridi having had a lacklustre performance against India earlier in the tournament, Akram urged the Pakistan pacer to mix things up in his opening spell.
“That’s what I want Shaheen Afridi to do early on, because the whole world now knows the plan against him. They say, ‘Okay, he’ll be bowling yorkers first up.’ So Afridi needs to have a Plan B. This is the length he should be bowling. I’m fine with one-off yorkers, but not two or three consecutive ones, because if he misses even one, it’s going for a boundary with only two fielders outside the circle. He ends up putting pressure on himself. I know he thinks he’s being attacking and going for wickets, but mixing it up with length balls is better. One yorker, yes, but not straightaway, and not every ball,” Akram told Sony Sports.
Pakistan suffered a seven-wicket loss against India in the Group A match in Dubai last Sunday. Pakistan could only post a total of 127 for 9, with Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav taking three wickets in the innings. India chased down the target in 15.5 overs, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav remaining unbeaten on 47 runs. Akram had earlier criticised the Pakistan batsmen for being unable to read Kuldeep Yadav.
“It’s just the way he (Kuldeep) bowls. They can’t read him. In the pre-show, I was talking to Sunny bhai (Sunil Gavaskar), who was a great batter. He said, ‘unless and until you can read him from the hand, you won’t be able to understand that type of bowling’. So that’s what happened. When they sweep against Kuldeep every second ball, it means you are not reading him,” Akram had said on Sony Sports.
The Pakistan innings saw only two batsmen cross the 20-run mark, with Sahibzada Farhan playing a knock of 40 runs while Shaheen Shah Afridi remained unbeaten on 33. Akram criticised Pakistani batsmen, including skipper Salman Ali Agha, as well as Hasan Nawaz and Mohammed Haris.
“Pakistan played 63 dot balls in their innings – that’s just over 10 overs of dots. Credit to the Indian bowlers. It’s sad to see players like Hasan Nawaz, Haris and our captain; they are talented players. But you need to pick your bowlers and read the situation. They were all chasing a strike rate of 150,” said Akram.
