In the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, rising Indian pacer Umran Malik and New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson regularly bowled at high speed. Both Umran Malik and Lockie Ferguson bowled over 150 km/h on separate occasions. In the title match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals, Lockie Ferguson bowled the ball at a speed of 157.3 km/h and held the record for the fastest delivery in the IPL. At the same time, Umran Malik became the fastest uncapped bowler to throw.
Pakistan is also one such country which has produced some of the fastest bowlers in cricket. However, current fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has a different view. When asked about the performances of Umran Malik and Lockie Ferguson in IPL 2022, Shaheen Shah Afridi said, “If you can’t swing the ball, it’s no use having pace.” If you don’t have line, length and swing, then speed can’t help you.
Shaheen Shah Afridi has been honored with the Sir Garfield Sobers Award (Male Cricketer) for the year 2021. Left-arm pacer Shaheen was speaking to the media ahead of Pakistan’s three-match One Day International series against the West Indies. This series was to be played in December 2021, but had to be postponed due to several cases of COVID-19 infection in the visiting team.
Shaheen Afridi said about the series against West Indies, ‘The weather is hot, but we are hoping to play good cricket in it. It will be a tough challenge for the fast bowlers to make long spells in the summer. However, as professionals, we are prepared to face such an environment.
Shaheen Afridi further said, ‘This is an important series in terms of World Cup qualification, so we do not want to lose any match. West Indies is also a strong international team. It’s not like they are sending U-19 players for this series. The first One Day International match will be played on 8 June 2022. All three matches will be played in Multan.