Aakash Chopra, a former cricketer for India, believes that Haris Rauf, not Shaheen Shah Afridi, is the bowler Rohit Sharma’s team “has to be afraid of.”
The countdown has started for the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12s encounter between India and Pakistan. Despite some ongoing weather-related concerns, both teams are making the best preparations they can for the much-anticipated match on Sunday in Melbourne. The return of Shaheen Shah Afridi to the Indian side is a significant development, but former cricketer Aakash Chopra does not believe he is the bowler Rohit Sharma and company need be scared of.
On Wednesday, Chopra tweeted during the warm-up game between Pakistan and Afghanistan: “Full…swinging…fast. Shaheen Afridi is approaching his peak performance. Gurbaz’ toe concurs.”
He stated in another tweet: “Shaheen is not, in my opinion, the bowler to watch out for on Sunday. This is Haris Rauf. Although Afridi is getting near his peak, he is still not there and is not likely to be by March 23. Rauf has the ability to change the game and will bowl the harder overs.”
In a scrimmage between Pakistan and Afghanistan at the Gabba on Wednesday, Shaheen made his comeback to the Pakistan team. He took two wickets for 29 runs, getting rid of both Afghan openers quickly. One of the dismissals was clean bowled while the other involved a toe-crushing yorker that put the batter out LBW.
Chopra says such despite witnessing Shaheen’s performance in the game. He won’t be India’s biggest threat on Sunday. Haris Rauf has been in outstanding form leading up to the T20 World Cup, it is also true. In truth, Rauf also claimed 2 wickets for 34 runs in the match against Afghanistan.
Shaheen has historically been difficult for Team India to defeat. Famously, the left-arm bowler took three wickets in the T20 World Cup encounter the previous year. Many Indian cricket fans are still plagued by recollections of that pitch.
