'That's his opinion' - Former Pakistan player replies on Ravi Shastri's 'don't overhype Shaheen Afridi' remark

Former India captain and head coach Ravi Shastri sparked controversy with his comments on Pakistan's pace spearhead, Shaheen Shah Afridi. During the India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad on October 14, Shastri cautioned against overhyping Afridi by drawing comparisons with the legendary Wasim Akram.

In response to Shastri's statement, Akram expressed his opinion, acknowledging Shaheen as one of the top pacers at present. He also mentioned that Shastri, a former Indian cricketer, and his good friend, is entitled to have his own perspective.

"I read about it. Ravi is a good friend of mine, that's his opinion. If you want to draw comparisons with any top bowlers of the world, Shaheen is one of the best right now," Akram said during the discussion on A Sports.

.@wasimakramlive comments on #RaviShastri's recent remarks about #ShaheenAfridi. Watch what the legendary pacer said in #AskThePavilion.#ASportsHD #ARYZAP #CWC23 #ThePavilion #ShoaibMalik #FakhreAlam #INDvNZ #MoinKhan #MisbahUlHaq pic.twitter.com/8N7TtWM6Kp

— ASports (@asportstvpk) October 22, 2023

But you have to admit it, if Naseem Shah is not playing and the quality of Pakistan's spin bowling is like this, then Shaheen Shah Afridi koi Wasim Akram nai hai! Acche bowler hai. Lekin itna bhi jyaada chadane ka koi zaroorat nahi hai. Jab hai theek thak, toh bolna chahiye woh theek thaak hai. Chadha ke nahin bithana chahiye ki bohot zabardast hai. Yeh nahi hai! Yeh Maan na padega. (Shaheen Afridi may be a skilled bowler, but it's essential not to exaggerate his abilities by comparing him to Wasim Akram. While he is undoubtedly a good player, it's important to limit our praise to acknowledging his proficiency. He may not reach the status of a great player, and we must acknowledge that fact)," Shastri said.

Pakistan were successful in scoring 282 against Afghanistan

After winning the toss the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam opted to bat first in match number 22 of ODI World Cup 2023. The Pakistan openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique started off really well and played out the entire batting powerplay at a good pace. But after Imam was dismissed Shafique contributed brilliantly along with skipper Babar Azam to steady the ship but once Shafique was dismissed to Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Rizwan also followed hut trying to sweep Noor in his very next over. 

But amid all the wickets tumbling from one end, skipper Babar held one end and played a brilliant innings of 74 runs. In addition to it, courtesy of some power hitting from Iftikhar Ahmed (40) and Shadab Khan (40), the 1992 World Cup winners ended their innings on 282 runs in their allocated 50 overs.