Shaheen Afridi has what it takes to become a superstar: Aqib Javed
August 27, 2021
Former Test cricketer and Lahore Qalandars head coach Aqib Javed says fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has what it takes to become a huge superstar and that his journey to become the best bowler is continuing successfully.
Javed said among the new bowlers that are emerging in the world at the moment, Shaheen Shah Afridi has the potential to do a lot.
He said Shaheen is playing all three formats at a young age and despite not getting a chance to rest, he is still playing well, Javed added.
In Javed's opinion, Shaheen has everything needed to become a superstar because his cricketing journey is ongoing, he has the advantage of height and has learned to swing with the new ball.
Regarding the draw in the Test series against West Indies, Javed said that pitches in the West Indies were not easy to play on. "[The] Pakistan team made a comeback in the game due to Fawad Alam's extraordinary innings in the second Test," he said.
He said Pakistan team's problems with batting are not new and reasoned that the only solution is to have a permanent team that can play in difficult conditions in Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa. He said tours should be continuous, otherwise the problem will continue.
The former fast bowler said that Azhar Ali's performances have been good in the past and that he is the only senior player on the team. Javed said Babar Azam and Fawad Alam are next on the list.
He said that considering Fawad Alam has so far only played 13 Test matches since his debut, one can only guess how much the team has been "broken".
"It cannot be possible for a team to have only one player with experience of having played more than 50 or 70 Test matches. Look at the West Indies team. There are more than six players who have played more than 40 Test matches," he said, highlighting that it means we, too, have to plan long term by identify talent and then giving them a chance.
"I see more talent in Shaan Masood than the two openers we have. He [Shan Masood] has performed in difficult conditions, but we wasted two years of players here. We wasted 10 years of Fawad Alam," Javed said.
