Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan still thinks that his team can finish in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup, even though their progress now depends on how other teams do in the event.
Pakistan beat Bangladesh by seven wickets at Eden Gardens Kolkata on Tuesday, which turned their NRR from negative to positive. However, they are still behind Australia and New Zealand, and it will be hard for them to catch up on NRR. Shaheen Afridi set a record by becoming the fastest bowler to 100 ODI wickets. With 3 for 23, she helped Pakistan win the game.
Shaheen believes Pakistan may finish in top four of World Cup 2023
After his amazing performance, Shaheen talked about how happy he was and how hopeful he was about Pakistan’s chances in the game.
“Records are meant to be broken,” Shaheen Afridi said in a humble way. I’m proud to have taken 100 wickets for Pakistan the fastest of any bowler. I’m glad we won the game. Because Pakistan is trying to get into the top four and improve their Net Run Rate (NRR), their win against Bangladesh was very important.
Shaheen showed how determined the team was by saying, “We want to finish in the top four, and our performance today showed that.” It was important for us to finish the game quickly so that our NRR would go up. We still think we can finish in the top four. When he thought about how Pakistan did in the event, he admitted that they did make some mistakes.
“Everything looks good when you win.” When you don’t, everyone starts to tell you what’s wrong. I believe we played badly in some games. Even though we tried our best, we made some mistakes. For example, we dropped some balls and played bad defence. Maybe things would have been different if we hadn’t done those stupid things. Whatever the case, Shaheen said, “we are still in the tournament and hope to do well.”
When asked about the tough conditions and lack of swing, Shaheen said that the same kind of circumstances would be present in India for the World Cup.
“I thought that I wouldn’t get much swing at first.” This thought came to me while watching IPL games. The ball is hard to swing for almost all left-arm fast bowlers, not just me. Length seems to be more important here. “We controlled the length and tried to bowl in different ways to make the attack work,” he said.
Haris Rauf is a key member of Pakistan’s white-ball team. It’s important to know that wickets are slow and that pacers have a hard time. “Many bowlers who depend on speed are having a hard time, but I’m sure he’s a very smart bowler who has used his variety to help Pakistan win,” Shaheen said.
With 16 wickets in the event, Shaheen proved anyone who was doubtful about his bowling rhythm wrong. “I have got 16 wickets so far, so there shouldn’t be any questions about my bowling rhythm.”
In response to a question, Shaheen said that his hero is Shahid Afridi and that he always looks to the former Pakistani team captain, who is now his father-in-law, for advice. He is my hero because he has done great things for Pakistan. The fast bowler said, “I want to be like him and play with as much courage as he did.”
