Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan’s premier pacer who suffered a knee injury during the Test series against Sri Lanka, has been replaced for the next Asia Cup competition by Mohammad Hasnain.
However, given Shaheen’s skill with the new ball, particularly in T20 cricket, veterans and experts have expressed their worries about such a significant loss for the Pakistani team. Scott Styris, a legend in his own New Zealand, agrees with Pakistani legend Waqar Younis that the news of Shaheen’s injury increases India’s chances of winning the Asia Cup.
Speaking on SPORTS18’s daily sports news programme “Sports Over The Top,” the former New Zealand cricketer acknowledged that Shaheen’s absence will excite all of the top-order hitters, not just the Indian team. Further supporting Waqar’s recent statements, he said in a widely shared tweet that India’s top order vulnerability to left-arm pacers without Shaheen provides them the advantage over Pakistan and a chance to win the Asia Cup for the eighth time in the tournament’s history.
Scott Styris said “Every top order should be high-fiving themselves because he has every possible attribute that you could want in a fast bowler. He has height, he has the pace, he gets bounce, he has that ability to swing the ball, and he has the variation of being a left armer as well. So, everything you would want from a fast bowler, he has it. So, I’m with you. I think that every top order in this competition, not just the Indian top order who are susceptible to the ball coming back, I think that they will be delighted that he isn’t there and it gives them a greater chance of winning the tournament.”
