“You don’t have one bowler here who is even close to 140”: Ravi Shastri tells the reason of Shaheen Afridi being under pressure.

During the second day of the series opener at the Optus Stadium, Pakistan’s pace attack encountered difficulties in making a significant impact. Without the services of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, the absence of firepower was apparent as Australia amassed a formidable total of 487 on the scoreboard. The uncharacteristic lack of pace in Pakistan’s bowling arsenal raised concerns at the Optus Stadium.

Shaheen Afridi emerged as the solitary contributor in the pace department, shouldering the burden in the absence of key bowlers. Out of the initial 95 overs, Afridi bowled only 25, and his pace remained in the early 130s – a considerable departure from the usual rapid speeds associated with Pakistan’s fast bowlers. Ravi Shastri, the former coach of the Indian cricket team, shared his perspective on the matter, attributing the lackluster performance to the undue pressure placed on Afridi

Ravi Shastri during the 2nd day said “I think Shaheen Afridi’s real problem is the pressure of being the spearhead of this Pakistan attack. Without much real support at the other end, when it comes to pace. When you talk of Pakistan and their fast-bowling attack, there is genuine pace all the time. And you don’t have one bowler here who is even close to 140. So that puts immense pressure even on someone like Shaheen.”