Mahela Jayawardene says Shaheen, Naseem bowling in tandem will be nightmare for batters

DUBAI: Legendary Sri Lankan batter Mahela Jayawardene believes with T20 World Cup 2022 to be played in Australia, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah bowling in tandem would be a nightmare for batters.

“The conditions in Australia will make those players difficult to handle. If Shaheen and Naseem bowl in tandem from both ends, it will be a nightmare, especially for many opening batters,” the Sri Lankan great said in the latest episode of ICC Review.

Mahela Jayawardene feels the Pakistani quicks, especially Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, are match winners on any given day. He noted that he was impressed by the young pacer for his skills, especially the way he swung the ball with that much speed.

“Naseem has been brilliant, I was really impressed by the way he went about things. The skills, especially bringing the ball back into the right-handers, the way he swung the ball with that kind of pace,” said the former Sri Lankan star.

Talking about Pakistan’s pace unit, the Sri Lankan batter added: “That Pakistan attack will look much stronger with Shaheen Afridi back as well, and the way Haris Rauf bowled. He bowled quickly. With the two youngsters, they’ve got a really, really good pace unit.”

Pakistan was handed a blow before the start of the Asia Cup when their pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi was sidelined with an injury. However, the green shirts’ bowling attack was then propped up by Naseem Shah, who made his T20I debut in the tournament.

The 19-year-old took seven wickets in the tournament as Pakistan finished as runners up. Shaheen Afridi has emerged as the leader of Pakistan’s bowling attack in all formats in recent years and Naseem has shown that he too can do the same.

It is pertinent to mention here that Shaheen is currently on his way to full recovery before the World Cup as he has been undergoing rehabilitation in London after facing a knee injury during the team’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in July.

The Green Shirts will start their ICC T20 World Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals India on October 23 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).