In the absence of Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi is somewhat under-rated.
Shaheen Shah Afridi will be the top wicket-taker in the ICC World Cup 2023. Sir Viv Richards
Shaheen Afridi’s incredible performance in World Cup 2019 hasn’t received enough attention. He truly had a remarkable tournament.
Shaheen picked up 16 wickets in 5 matches with an economy rate of 4.96 and an average of 14.6, which ranks as the 6th best by a Pakistani pacer in a single World Cup, even though he missed 3 games.
Most wickets for a Pakistani in a Single World Cup:
- Shahid Afridi – 21 wickets in 8 matches (2011)
- Wasim Akram – 18 wickets in 10 matches (1992)
- Imran Khan – 17 wickets in 7 matches (1988)
- Mohammed Amir – 17 wickets in 8 matches (2019)
- Saqlain Mushtaq – 17 wickets in 10 matches (1999)
- Shaheen Afridi – 16 wickets in 5 matches (2019)
Shaheen Afridi was also ranked as the 3rd most impactful bowler in the tournament by CricWiz.
Total bowling impact CWC 19:
Mitchell Starc – 193.70
Jasprit Bumrah – 157.80
Shaheen Afridi – 145.80
But what’s most incredible about Shaheen is his new ball spells in the World Cup. Guess what, only 1 bowler had a better new ball average than Shaheen in that World Cup.
Shami – 12.75
Shaheen – 17.0
Bumrah – 20.8
Shaheen Afridi also had the best new ball strike rate at that World Cup, which was 18.0, while Shami was at 22.5.
He registered the best bowling figures for a Pakistani in the World Cup (9.1 overs – 35 runs – 6 wickets) & was the youngest bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in a World Cup.
Despite him not being played in the first World Cup 2023 warm-up game against New Zealand, I hope Shaheen Shah Afridi performs even better this time because we need him the most; our bowling is so dependent on him.