“They cannot play him” – Ex-Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif reacts to Shaheen Afridi's 4-fer in IND vs PAK Asia Cup showdown

Shaheen Afridi starred with the ball in the 2023 Asia Cup showdown between India and Pakistan at Pallekele in Sri Lanka on Saturday, September 2. The left-arm seamer took the prized wickets of India captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli to put their rivals on the backfoot. He finished with figures of 4/35 in his 10 overs as the Men in Green bundled out the Men in Blue for 266 in 48.5 overs.

Afridi first cleaned up Rohit before Kohli chopped onto the stumps, reducing the Men in Blue to 27/2 at one stage. The Indian fans got a mini heart attack, while Pakistan fans were on the moon. Even former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who closely follows the game, couldn’t control his excitement.

Sharif first wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter):

“SHAHEEN.”

He then quoted:

“THEY CANNOT PLAY HIM.”

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“Both were crucial wickets” – Shaheen Afridi on dismissing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

Shaheen Afridi spoke about the significance of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s wickets in the Indo-Pak game. He revealed that he liked Rohit’s wicket more than Kohli.

In the mid-innings show, he said:

“That was our plan with the new ball. I think both (Virat and Rohit) were crucial wickets. Every batter is the same for me, but I think I liked Rohit's wicket better."

Afridi continued:

"The plans by our fast bowlers worked. Naseem is bowling at 150 kph, really happy with that, he's really fast. The new ball might swing and seam, nothing much after that.”

As far as the game is concerned, Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan starred with the bat as India reached 266. The duo scored 87 (90) and 82 (81), sharing a record 138-run partnership for the fifth wicket that helped the Men in Blue recover from 66/4.

Besides Rohit and Kohli, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, too, failed to deliver with the bat, scoring 10 (32) and 14 (9), respectively. The duo fell prey to Haris Rauf.

For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi took four wickets, while Rauf and Naseem Shah bagged three wickets apiece.

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