Sport
Asia Cup: Pakistan pace star Shaheen says ‘best yet to come’
Pakistan pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi has warned his devastating spell against arch-rivals India that set the Asia Cup alight is just the start, with the World Cup only weeks away.
The left-arm fast bowler rattled the Indian top-order in their Group A clash last week, taking 4-35 – including the wickets of star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
That match was washed out but they meet again in Colombo on Sunday in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup, a precursor to the 50-over World Cup that kicks off next month.
And Shaheen told AFP there is more to come.
"Every match against India is special and people watch this a lot," the 23-year-old said Friday. "I used to wait for this match as a fan before I played under-16 cricket."
"I can't say this has been my best spell so far. This is just the start and there will be many more, so the best is yet to come."
With his ability to move the ball both ways, Shaheen leads one of the most potent pace attacks in the world.
"If you play all the three formats at such a young age for Pakistan and handle the new ball, people expect you to perform like that," he said.
Shaheen and his fellow fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf have picked up 23 wickets between them in the Asia Cup so far.
"We know our roles with the new and old ball," Shaheen said.
"Haris is quicker than us and impacts with his pace. Naseem and I try to get early breakthroughs."
The "communication is good between us," he added. "And that's our success."
Shaheen, who stands at 6 feet and 6 inches (1.98 meters), suffered a serious knee injury last year but returned strongly in Sri Lanka in July.
"It's your match time that helps you improve. These test matches against Sri Lanka recently made me improve as I bowled long spells and fielded all day," said Shaheen, who has 105 wickets in 27 tests, AFP reported.
"So that cleared all doubts about the knee injury."
Shaheen has never played cricket in India – bilateral cricket ties are frozen because of political tensions between the neighbors.
He is keen to do well when Pakistan take on hosts India in the hotly anticipated World Cup match in Ahmedabad on October 14.
"All the foreign players who have played in the IPL (Indian Premier League), we had discussions with them. I think our Pakistan wickets or Dubai pitches will be similar," he said.
"Spinners will get more help, maybe. We will hit good lengths. Our team performance is going well as the No 1 (ODI) team. We have prepared well."
Shaheen is married to one of the daughters of former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, and said he speaks to the former allrounder before every big match.
"I try to pick his brains before a big game and include it in my plans as he was a big-match player," said Shaheen.
"He talks simply and says: 'Just play your cricket'."
A fan of legendary Pakistani left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram, Shaheen said he keeps his focus on the field by avoiding cricket off it.
"I don't go out much and stay in my room. Just stay indoors, make green tea... and talk about anything other than cricket," he said.
"That keeps me relaxed."
Afghanistan Under-19 cricket team defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) U19 by eight wickets in the sixth match of the tri-nation series in Dubai on Sunday.
Asked to field first by UAE U19 who won the toss, Afghans bowled out the hosts for 88 runs in the 36.3 overs.
Afghanistan U19 chased down the target in the 21.2 overs.
Naseer Khan Maroofkhil claimed three wickets. Abdul Aziz Khatir Stanikzai and Rohaullah Arab picked up three wickets each.
Afghanistan U19 will play final against Pakistan U19 on Tuesday.
South African player Faf du Plessis showcased his batting brilliance by blasting a blistering 75 for Morrisville Samp Army against New York Strikers in the fifth game of the 2024 Abu Dhabi T10 League on Friday.
The 40-year-old reached his fifty in just 22 balls. He remained unbeaten on 75 off 32 balls, hitting five boundaries and six sixes.
Samp Army posted 135-1 in 10 overs, 41 of it coming from Adndries Gous’s bat, and they won the match by 36 runs.
It was one of the four matches played on Friday.
In the other matches, Northern Warriors defeated Delhi Bulls by 7 wickets, with Jonson Charles hitting a fifty.
Team Abu Dhabi thrashed UP Nawabs by 8 wickets after bowling them out for just 51. Mark Adair claimed four wickets. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and Zeeshan Naseer picked up two wickets each.
In the last match of the day, Deccan Gladiators beat Ajman Bolts by 20 runs. Gladiators set a target of 138 runs, with Jos Buttler making 60 runs off 22 balls.
In reply, Ajman Bolts fell short on 117 despite captain Mohammad Nabi blasting 43 off 13 balls.
The highly anticipated TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) Player Auction will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday November 24 and Monday November 25 - an event that will be broadcast to Afghanistan’s cricket fans live and exclusively by Ariana Television and Radio Network (ATN).
The two-day event will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana News.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this year. It will be the second time that the IPL mega auction is held outside India after last year's event in Dubai.
This year's mega auction will have 1,574 players registered, of which 574 names will go under the hammer.
Of those 574, a total of 366 players will be Indian and 208 will be foreign cricketers.
A number of big names will be in fray, with as many as 81 players choosing to register themselves under the highest base price bracket of Rs 2 crore ($237,000).
Afghan players
Eighteen Afghan players have been shortlisted for the IPL mega auction.
Two hundred and four (204) slots will be up for grabs with 70 available slots for overseas players.
Full list of Afghan players shortlisted for the auction:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Noor Ahmad
Waqar Salamkheil
Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar
Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
Azmatullah Omarzai
Naveen-ul-haq
Zahir Khan Pakten
Sediqullah Atal
Mohammad Nabi
Gulbadin Naib
Fazalhaq Farooqi
Najibullah Zadran
Ibrahim Zadran
Qais Ahmad
Karim Janat
Faridoon Dawoodzai
Nangyal Kharote
For cricket fans across the country, the IPL mega auction broadcast will be on Sunday and Monday from 1.30pm Kabul time on Ariana News. For more information and updated stories be sure to watch this space and follow us on social media.
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