Legendary India captain Kapil Dev feels that it’s not fair to compare Shaheen Shah Afridi with Mohammed Shami as the former has done consistently well in the last two years for his team. Shami, who last played a T20I match in 2021, returned to the Indian team as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah in 2022 T20 World Cup.
Shami proved the selectors’ decision right with a match-winning final over against Australia in the warm-up match of the T20 World Cup. He defended 12 runs to silence his critics. He landed yorker after yorker and ended up with three wickets in the over beside a run-out.
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However, the fans started comparing him to Shaheen as the two were also seen bowling together at the nets in Brisbane.
Kapil, who is very vocal about his views and opinions, suggested that there is a lot of difference between the two pacers and Shaheen is currently leading the race.
“You can’t judge anything by just one over. Afridi was spot on when talked about looking at the performances of the last two years where Shaheen has been very good. Whenever he has got an opportunity, he has made an impact. I wouldn’t even like to compare (Shami and Shaheen). Shami hasn’t played a lot of cricket of late. I would have perhaps compared Bumrah with Afridi if he was there but can’t compare Shami and Afridi because there is a lot of difference,” Kapil said in a joint broadcast of Samaa TV and ABP News.
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Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was also part of that discussion as he claims that the upcoming match between India and Pakistan will settle the debate.
“If you look at the last few years, Shaheen’s performances have been outstanding. He has used the new ball brilliantly. As a bowler you always try to pick wickets in the first six overs to give your team a good start. Shami too has had some very good spells with the new-ball. Both Shami and Shaheen know how to bowl with the new ball. It’s a big match coming up and we’ll get to know who bowls better,” he said.
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