Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is one of the top pacers in the world, be it in the red ball or the white-ball formats. The fact that he was picked in both the Test and T20I teams of the year 2021 only makes the claim even stronger. Thus it is no secret that people all around the world want to know how he keeps on picking so many wickets and keeps on outguessing the batters.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, Shaheen, while talking about the art of outfoxing the batters, credited his hobby of cricket watching as a child for his success now.
“I always try to see what the batsman is doing. As a kid, I used to watch a lot of cricket, be it ODIs or Tests. I tried to pick things from the TV and imitate them in the nets. With practice over the years, I have developed my stock balls and got a sense of when to change things up to the batsman,” he said.
The 21-year-old who is currently playing in PSL and captaining the Lahore Qalandars was also aware of his limitations and that he can not bowl every ball in the book. “You say that I know how to deliver all kinds of balls... aisa bilkul nahi hai! (It's not like that at all!) I try to prepare myself for more challenges all the time and keep learning on the way. The learning never stops,” said the left-arm pacer.