Shaheen Afridi has given some phenomenal performances in India versus Pakistan encounters in his young career. The youngster was exceptional when the two arch-rivals met in the group stage, earlier this month. He picked up the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with the new ball and came back with the older ball to dismiss Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.
When the two sides collided yet again in the Super Four stage on Sunday, September 10 in Colombo, fans were waiting to see how the Indian openers would respond against the lethal left-arm seamer. Instead of trying to survive, like in their first meeting, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill decided to fight fire with fire and the ploy worked wonders. The Punjab batter was the wrecker in chief as Shaheen went for 31 runs in three overs.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt slammed Shaheen for trying too hard and being impatient. Butt felt that the talented youngster was trying to pick a wicket off every ball and that is why he tried too many things.
"Shubman Gill played attacking cricket early on. Tell me one shot that he didn't hit against the swinging ball. However, I feel Shaheen Afridi was very impatient. If you get hit, you need to understand that the batter has also come to play. If a quality batter plays a couple of good shots, it doesn't mean that you didn't bowl well. Shaheen tried a lot of things. He bowled a few short balls, then some full deliveries, and even went around the stumps. He tried five to six things in those three overs. He got hit because he was trying to take a wicket on every ball," Butt said on his YouTube channel.
'New batting superstar has arrived' - Salman Butt lauds Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill didn't stop after his initial blitzkrieg. He displayed his full repertoire of strokeplay and scored a 52-ball 58 before being flummoxed by a slower delivery from Shaheen. Butt praised Shubman for commendably handling pressure and scoring quick runs by playing risk-free cricket in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 fixture.
"Shubman Gill played elegant shots. He did not try to slog or play risky cricket. There was a lot of hype surrounding Pakistan's bowling attack. To play in this fashion under such pressure shows that he is mentally very strong. This is great news for international cricket because a new batting superstar has arrived," Butt concluded.
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