Shaheen places his bet on India’s top order collapse to emerge triumphant ahead of Ind-Pak clash in Asia Cup 2023

Shaheen Afridi (Source: Twitter)

Shaheen Afridi has wreak havoc against the most destructive batting line ups over the years. He has time again used his natural ability to swing the ball with ample pace to dislodge the best of the batsman's defence. He could potentially be that projectile weapon Pakistan would surely look to make the best out of.

Over the years there have been very few India-Pakistan encounters. Thanks to the political tensions between the countries, they only face off at the marquee events. While recalling those high-pressure games, one name which had troubled the Indian batsmen specifically the top order was Shaheen Afridi.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pacer has dismissed openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul during the T20 World Cup in 2021 and troubled the Indian openers during the T20 World Cup clash last year at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Although, this time with Rohit its Shubman Gill who would be facing the wrath of Shaheen in the opening match of Asia Cup for India.

While interacting with Star Sports, Shaheen looked confident in his approach and spilled some beans on how he is going to sketch his plan against the Indian batting unit, predominantly the top order. He asserted,

"In my opinion, my game plan is simple, every opener knows my game plan. The goal is to, as always, get the openers out to put pressure on the batting team. The middle order when they come in are not used to playing against the new ball as much as an opener. So there is a lot of pressure on the middle order to face the new ball.”

Manjrekar gives India an edge given their top order flourishes

Sanjay Manjrekar has acknowledged the plight of Indian team when their top order fails to deliver. Men in Blue have gone on to lose the must win matches during knock out stages of the tournaments because of their top order collapse. Speaking of the same the former Indian batter said,

"See, fortunately for India, number one, two, and three, when Virat bats at number three, they are three very good test batters. And you might talk about 50 overs being a one-day match and white-ball cricket and all that, but the start of a 50 overs game is not like a T20 match. I think there are some serious test cricket skills needed, and then Rohit Sharma got these five hundreds in the last World Cup. I remember him respecting the bowling in the first 10 overs. And these three guys - Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat - who have excellent credentials as defensive test batters, that is the game they will have to bring. If they do not lose early wickets, then it is just their game," Manjrekar said on Star Sports.