Shaheen Afridi recalled how Shoaib Malik's advise helped him to dismiss KL Rahul.
Pakistan’s star pacer Shaheen Afridi recalled his incredible spell against India in the previous T20 World Cup 2021 ahead of the much-awaited clash between the two teams in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday (October 23) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Notably, Afridi had dismissed Rohit Sharma for a golden duck and then went on to claim the two key wickets of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli to shatter India’s remarkable winning streak against Pakistan in the World Cups, as the Men in Green won that group match by 10 wickets in Dubai last year.
Well, ahead of the India v Pakistan match at the MCG on Sunday, Shaheen revealed that he was determined to do something special against India that would forever be etched in the memories of Pakistan fans. He also recalled how he planned Rohit and Rahul’s wickets at the T20 World Cup last year.
As reported by ESPNCricinfo, Shaheen Afridi stated: “A time comes in your career when you want to make a name for yourself and this opportunity comes when you facing the bigger teams. I always wanted to play against India and this was my first T20 against them. I wanted to perform in a way that people would always remember. We also hadn't won against India in a World Cup before.”
The star pacer further revealed that he had studied Rohit's pattern of dismissal and found his weakness against the inswing deliveries at a yorker length and that the ploy worked against the Indian opener in last year's tournament.
He continued, “I had observed that Rohit Sharma struggles against the inswing, at that yorker length. In 2021, most of my dismissals were of that length. So, I thought to myself, if that's my strength why not use it against him in the first ball that bowl to him.”
Shaheen also revealed how Shoaib Malik’s crucial advice helped him to get Rahul's wicket in that match against India.
He signed off by saying, “For KL Rahul, I happened to be standing with Shoaib Malik. He asked me if the ball was swinging, and I said, not much. He asked me to not try the yorker ball but the length ball and it might just nip back in. I tried it and that's exactly what happened. I owe that wicket to Shoaib Malik.”