• Home
  • Player Stories
  • Watch When Ravi Shastri Brutally Trolled Shaheen Afridi Pakistans Bowling

[Watch] When Ravi Shastri Brutally Trolled Shaheen Afridi & Pakistan's Bowling

image-lnq7irnqRavi Shastri commentated during IND vs PAK on Saturday (x.com)

Ravi Shastri denounced the constant hype surrounding Shaheen Afridi after the young Pakistan left-arm quick struggled for control and consistency and got hammered by India in the much-anticipated ICC World Cup 2023 league stage encounter on Saturday (October 14). 

With Indian skipper and experienced opener Rohit Sharma unleashing his beast mode against the new-ball once again, Shaheen was taken for a battering by the tournament hosts in Pakistan's unsuccessful defence of the disastrous 191 all out. 

The much-vaunted swing bowler began the Pakistani defence with a woeful delivery on Rohit's pads, which the in-form Indian captain duly flicked for a boundary to the square leg region to announce his arrival and ruffle up Shaheen's feathers in the critical first powerplay. 

Even though the youngster's eventual figures stood at 2 for 36 off 6 overs, his late wickets in the Indian innings proved no balm to a Pakistan side that depended heavily on his very first spell to make amends for their painstaking collapse in the first-innings.


Ravi Shastri quashes Shaheen Afridi hype in Ahmedabad 

It was the third consecutive occasion that Shaheen had let Pakistan down badly. Known for his ability to swing the new-ball ball both ways at speeds in excess of 145 kmph, the 23-year-old had unsatisfying figures of 1/37 off his 7 overs against an inexperienced Netherlands side and was smashed for 1/66 off his 9 overs versus the Sri Lankans. 

Speaking on air as a commentator for Star Sports, Shastri took a brutal dig on the pacer. The former India head coach called for a more realistic assessment of the growing Pakistani seamer and urged his colleagues not to indulge in overhyping any individuals. 

"He can take wickets with the new-ball. He is a good bowler. However, there is no need to put him on a pedestal and overhype him," Shastri said."When the performance is just about decent, we must call it decent. But not put the bowler on a pedestal and call it a great spell even though we know it is not."



Reports have circulated in the past few weeks that Shaheen might be hurting with an injured finger in his bowling arm, which has left him short of rhythm and strong footing at the crease. However, Shastri took the opportunity to make a larger assessment of the bowler's career, insisting that the hype he generates on the outside tends to belie his underdeveloped state.