Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has applauded Shaheen Shah Afridi’s spell in Pakistan’s 2023 World Cup win against Bangladesh. He also added that the left-arm seamer’s dismissal of Mahmudullah reminded him of Wasim Akram as well. Afridi registered figures of 3/23 in nine overs as Pakistan bowled out Bangladesh for 204 in Kolkata on Tuesday, October 31 and then they chased down the below-par target with seven wickets and 17.3 overs to spare as well.

Reflecting on Pakistan’s bowling in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “The way Shaheen started here, his numbers are very good against Bangladesh, he is doing very well in this tournament and has reached the landmark (100 ODI wickets) very quickly. He picked up wickets with the new ball and the way he dismissed Mahmudullah with the old ball, I thought that was beautiful.”

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The former India opener further added: “He came around the stumps and took the ball away. It reminded you slightly of Wasim Akram. Wasim Jr – he gets the ball to reverse swing nicely because he has a slightly round-arm action. He hit the ball on the stumps, that was quite impressive.”

Aakash Chopra added that Afridi and Wasim set up the game for Pakistan. He also lauded Haris Rauf (2/36) for adding a little spice in the middle as well.

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“The less you talk about spin, the better it is because there is no potency in spin. Spin is not there at all. There is nothing. It’s only for name, now they don’t even play Shadab (Khan), whether it was a concussion or not. (Mohammad) Nawaz, Usama Mir – no one seems to have the ability to do a great job. In fact, they got Iftikhar to bowl 10 overs. Iftikhar was the fifth bowler. This has become the situation now. Nothing against Iftikhar but you know what I mean,” he concluded.