"Shaheen Afridi Wasim Akram nahi hai"- Ravi Shastri takes a brutal dig at Pakistan fast bowler

Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri took a dig at Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi.

Former India cricketer and ex-coach Ravi Shastri took a brutal dig at Pakistani bowlers, saying that there was no need to hype them so much and said that Shaheen Afridi is no Wasim Akram. His words came during Pakistan loss to India in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match in Ahmedabad.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam had proudly praised his bowling unit at a pre-World Cup event, captain’s day held at Narendra Modi Stadium, when he was asked by Ravi Shastri about the strength of his team.

However, Pakistan bowlers have struggled to showcase their abilities in the three matches they have played thus far. They were good to keep Netherlands to 205 in a chase of 286 runs, but against Sri Lanka, Pakistani bowlers gave up 344 runs.

And in the latest encounter against India, Pakistani bowling attack was shredded by Rohit Sharma, who scored 86 runs in 63 balls with six sixes and six fours, and then by Shreyas Iyer, who made 53*. India chased the 192 runs target with almost 20 overs to go.

Shaheen Shah Afridi is no Wasim Akram: Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri, former head coach of India, was quite critical of Pakistan's bowling, which have struggled in the current competition. He expressed his opinions in the Hindi commentary box, stating that although many people hold Pakistani bowling unit in extremely high regard, the truth is quite different.

“People tell me that Pakistan has a resounding bowling attack. Nakli baat hai ye sab (It’s not true at all). It’s not good and you have to accept that. You don’t have Naseem Shah at the moment, and you got a quality spin attack.

Shaheen Shah Afridi koi Wasim Akram nahi hai (Shaheen Shah Afridi is no Wasim Akram). I agree that he bowls with the new ball and picks up wickets but no need to give him that kind of hype. Something which is ok, you have to call it ok. No need to give them too much importance because this attack is not the best one,” he said on air.

Watch the video here:

Pakistan will now face Australia in Bengaluru on a batting pitch on October 20.