“India has moved on from that state of mind”: Ex-Pakistan captain points out a big difference in the handling of Shaheen, Bumrah
“India has moved on from that state of mind”: Ex-Pakistan captain points out a big difference in the handling of Shaheen, Bumrah. The Pakistan Cricket Board announced its squad for the Asia Cup squad last week. The leading fast bowler of Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi was part of the team. His participation in the continental tournament now is hanging in balance. Shaheen is suffering from a knee injury ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka. He is still not fit. He is still traveling with the Pakistan squad to the Netherlands. Babar Azam stated that the team’s doctor and the physio will be taking care of the fast bowler there.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has now discussed Shaheen’s injury.
“Without Shaheen, Pakistan’s attack will not be that impactful. At the same time, it’s an opportunity for youngsters like Naseem Shah, Dahani. It is their chance to prove that they can also take responsibility. We often talked about minimizing the load of Afridi, not playing him everywhere, to save him. But it didn’t happen. Now, he’s injured and if he’s not in the Asia Cup, it’s an opportunity for others to prove their mettle. If the youngsters don’t step up, questions will be raised on why they were not given chances earlier. Why Shaheen was played everywhere. Why he was overloaded,” said Butt on his official YouTube channel.
“Anyway, the positive thing is that the youngsters have a golden opportunity.”
Later in the video, the former Pakistan captain talked about Bumrah when it was revealed that there is an absence of the leading pacer of India due to a back injury. However, Butt said that India keeps trying new bowlers in every game, and will not be facing the same problems as Pakistan.
“They keep playing new players in every game. Yes, there’s no other bowler like him. He’s their best product and one of the best in the world. So it will have an impact. But India has moved on from that state of mind. They keep changing their team in every match. So I don’t think it would be a major issue. Even if there’s a major issue, there’s a big difference between Bumrah and others. So, others will have to ensure that the difference doesn’t look that big,” said Butt.