Razzaq praises ‘mature’ Shaheen for impressive display against Australia

Former all-rounder believes youngster has everything it takes to make it to the top

KARACHI:  

The young Shaheen Shah Afridi was the star of the show on Thursday as his three-for helped Pakistan down Australia by 45 runs in their Tri-Series encounter and former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq could not contain his praise for the teenager.

Shaheen, who just turned 18 a few months ago, caught everyone’s attention when he picked the prized wicket of in-form Australian captain Aaron Finch in just the second ball of his spell and finished his innings with figures of 3-37.

And Razzaq praised Shaheen for his impressive hard work which paved the way for him to make such an impact for the national side; and that too against an intimidating Australian attack.

“He has been traveling with the team for the last three series but wasn’t given a chance. But as soon as he got it, he worked wonders with it,” said Razzaq. “He just turned 18 but was performing like a well-established bowler and that has got everything to do with his hard-work. He is skilful, sharp and has the mentality to trouble batsmen.”

Razzaq further praised Shaheen for sticking to the team plan and bowling along the lines of what his captain — Sarfraz Ahmed — required of him.

“He has done what his captain wanted from him. He has dismissed Pakistan’s biggest fear [Finch] and that dismissal turned the match on its head,” he added.

Razzaq also praised the Pakistan batting line-up and said: “Pakistan batsmen were not able to deal with the bouncers in the previous match, however, they did tremendously well in this one. It seems as if they have worked hard to deal with the bouncers and that was evident in the way everyone batted, especially Fakhar Zaman!”

Talking about the importance of grooming youngsters, Razzaq said that he is happy to see so many young players shine.

“It is good to see young players coming in and play. Sahibzada Farhan is yet to show what he is capable of and I can see that he can be a good replacement for Haris Sohail in the next final match,” he concluded.