‘Shaheen Afridi faltered when it mattered most,’ Shahid Afridi says

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi came down hard on Shaheen Shah Afridi, his son-in-law and a pacer, over his poor performance during the last fixture of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand on Monday.

The left-arm pacer started off well in the first over of the second innings, picking up two wickets for just four runs. Shaheen’s two quick wickets in the first over put New Zealand on the back foot after they were set to chase 194 runs to level the five-match series.

However, Shaheen was highly criticised on social media after he conceded 16 runs in the 18th over which shifted the game away from Pakistan.

Shahid also highlighted the flaws of Pakistan’s frontline pacer. “Consistency in line and length is crucial in winning matches. While Shaheen started strong, he faltered when it mattered most, bowling at the wrong areas,” Shahid told local media.

Meanwhile, the flamboyant all-rounder of his time also took a dig at current star all-rounder Shadab Khan.

“Shadab has always been a strong performer in the middle-overs but struggles against left-handed batters. It’s important for him to focus on his bowling, as that is his strength. As a batter, he should take a backseat. In the end, Shadab’s performance is what matters most and he should strive to improve his bowling to secure his spot in the squad,” he mentioned.

Mark Chapman, who played a match-saving knock against Pakistan in the final T20I of five-match series, was dropped by Shadab in the 14th over when he was batting at 67 runs. The new life in the match helped him score his maiden T20I century and that too a remarkable one.

Shadab’s dropped catch brought a lot of criticism to him as Pakistan lost another chance to win a series at home. The five-match T20I series ended 2-2.