Ahead of Pakistan’s semi-final clash against New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup semi-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday, legendary Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting has revealed Shaheen Afridi, even if not at his fiery best, will have the biggest impact on the game “Because of how good he is”. Afridi missed the seven-match T20I series against England with a knee injury ahead of the entire Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates and the T20 World Cup against England, but Ponting said that even though the tall pacer was at 90 per cent of his potential. He is working, he is better than all the other bowlers. Afridi produced his best ever World Cup performance when he collected impressive figures of 4/22 against Bangladesh on Sunday and that spell helped Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals.
Ponting said on the ICC, “He may say that he is not back to 100 per cent yet, but from what I have seen he seems to be progressing beautifully and now he has the key to Pakistan’s progress in the tournament.” Is.” Afridi injured his right knee while fielding during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in July and recovery and rehabilitation have been slow for the 22-year-old. He went without a wicket during Pakistan’s opening two matches of the tournament against India and Zimbabwe, but Ponting said he always had faith in the left-arm bowler.
Virat not under pressure, Virat under pressure – Shaheen Afridi
In last 10 years this Virat Kohli vs Pakistan Inshallah India will win ____#Virat Kohli_, , #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/wOqeRWfUGZ— DRX Khan ____ _____ (@MKhan76755452) 23 October 2022
“(I never had any doubts) as you know what he is capable of when he is on the field,” Ponting said. “And like I said, even if he’s not at 100 percent, if he’s working at 90 percent, he’s still going to have a greater impact on sports because of how good he is. So look, he can be He had some concerns in his mind and Pakistan hierarchy and coaching group had some concerns in his mind, but not any more. He has done really well so far and hopefully there will be two more matches for him.” Ponting.
Ponting compared Afridi’s return to form to that of India’s Virat Kohli in Australia and indicated that sometimes you need to put your faith in champion players to build on the big stage. “It’s almost like the scenario in India where Virat (Kohli) comes into this tournament,” Ponting said. “Sometimes you just have to stick with them and pick them up and let them go because the champion players will find a way to get the job done.” And as the tournament progresses he (Afridi) has gotten better and better and hopefully the best is still to come,” Ponting said.