‘We had discussions with foreign players who played in IPL’ – Shaheen Afridi reveals his plan for ODI World Cup 2023

Shaheen Afridi has been in great form recently. The left-arm pacer destroyed the Indian batting lineup in the group stage match of the Asia Cup 2023 in Pallekele. Shaheen claimed 4/35 with the ball against India. The star bowler from Pakistan claimed the two big wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and caused trouble for the Indian team in a rain-affected match.  

The preparation of the Pakistani pacer for the 2023 ODI World Cup seems to be going more than well. The 23-year-old has claimed 7 wickets in 3 matches in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. With just 25 days left before the start of the ODI World Cup, the Pakistani pacer has started to focus on his performance. The Khyber Agency-born bowler is eyeing towards performing well in the big tournament.

‘We will hit good lengths’ – Shaheen Afridi 

Speaking about his preparation for the tournament, Afridi said he had discussions with foreign players who played IPL. “All the foreign players who have played in the IPL, we had discussions with them. Spinners will get more help, maybe. We will hit good lengths. Our team performance is going well as the number one (ODI) team. We have prepared well,” said Afridi. 

Afridi was very good in the 2019 ODI World Cup, which took place in England. In the tournament, the youngster claimed 16 wickets in just 5 matches at a sensational bowling average of 14.62, at an economy of 4.96. The Pakistani fans would hope their star bowler performs in a similar way in the 2023 ODI World Cup as well. 

Shaheen said that he has had a good start to his career and the best is yet to come. “Every match against India is special and people watch it a lot. I used to wait for this match as a fan before I played under-16 cricket. I can’t say this (4/35) has been my best spell so far. This is just the start and there will be many more, so the best is yet to come,” concluded Shaheen.