Former Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi made a bizarre remark about how India is producing very good fast bowlers because now they have started eating meat. In the same vein, he also credited the Indian Premier League for the development of Indian cricket.
Afridi was talking on a Samaa TV show when he was asked about the reason why Indian cricket has not only changed but the nation, which is known for producing great batters, has now started to make great bowlers as well.
“India has a huge 1.4 billion population, and the quality of cricket has changed [over the years]. Back then we used to say that they were producing great batters while Pakistan was creating good bowlers, but that was not the case as we were generating both bowlers and batters. However, their bowlers have now started eating meat, so they have gained strength,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
He then credited the IPL and former skippers like Sourav Ganguly, and MS Dhoni for taking Indian cricket to the level it is today.
“First Sourav Ganguly made so many changes during his captaincy and then the way MS Dhoni carried all the seniors with him. They [BCCI] invested in the right place. They improved their grassroots level cricket by giving the entire domestic system to a player like Rahul Dravid, who knows what the kids [domestic players] need to reach the top. They worked hard, and now they keep on producing talents. If India wants, they can create two teams now,” Afridi added.
India has produced some very good fast bowlers in recent years with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammad Shami leading the way. Then they have Prasidh Krishna, Umran Malik, and Deepak Chahar and others waiting for opportunities.
“They invested at the right place and now the people of India are diverting their attention towards it [bowling]. They built camps and the talent is coming,” Afridi said.
India and Pakistan will clash in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
