Unlike Shastri, Chopra heaps praise on Shaheen Afridi

Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator, Aakash Chopra, showered praise on the exceptional performance of Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi throughout the ongoing ICC 2023 World Cup scheduled in India. 

Unlike the statement expressed by former Indian cricketer, Ravi Shastri, Chopra lauded Afridi for his remarkable achievements so far he has accomplished.

While speaking on his Youtube channel, the former cricketer highlighted Afridi’s impressive numbers against Bangladesh and commended his swift journey to the milestone of 100 One Day International (ODI) wickets. 

“The way Shaheen started here, his numbers are very good against Bangladesh, he is doing very well in this tournament and has reached the landmark (100 ODI wickets) very quickly. He picked up wickets with the new ball and the way he dismissed Mahmudullah with the old ball, I thought that was beautiful,” Chopra said.

The 46-year-old was notably captivated by the left-arm pacer’s exceptional bowling skills, whether it was with the fresh or aging cricket ball. 

He underscored the finesse in Afridi’s dismissal of Mahmudullah, drawing parallels to the iconic Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram.

“He came around the stumps and took the ball away. It reminded me slightly of Wasim Akram. Wasim Jr — he gets the ball to reverse swing nicely because he has a slightly round-arm action. He hit the ball on the stumps that was quite impressive,” he concluded.

It is worth noting that the 23-year-old is currently the joint leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 16 wickets in seven matches, sporting an average of 19.93 and an economy of 5.22. He also claimed the top spot in the ICC’s latest ODI bowler rankings.