Harbhajan Singh recalls how India used to fear Shahid Afridi

Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh opened up on how Pakistan’s former captain Shahid Afridi used to frighten the oppositions including India in their games against the Men in Green.

Discussing the effectiveness and dangerous nature of Afridi’s batting, he said that the former Pakistan captain had the capability to snatch the game from opposition in a short period of time at the crease.

“Doesn’t matter how much time he spent on the wicket, but he added the duration of our team meeting. I can remember the World Cup match of 2007. If Shahid Afridi is still to bat, there would be fear in the opposition,” Harbhajan Singh said.

According to the Indian spin bowler, the explosive batter could change the course of the match even if he played only 15 balls. “He had the ability to take the game deep.”

Singh revealed that Indian team was concerned regarding Afridi’s major role during the PAK v IND final of the T20 World Cup 2007.

“Irfan Pathan and Shahid Afridi exchanged a few words. The first ball that Afridi faced, Irfan bowled a bouncer and said something. The very next ball, Afridi tried to play a big shot and lost his wicket. As soon as he got out, half the job was done for India,” he recalled.

It is pertinent to mention that archrivals Pakistan and India faced each other at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2004 on June 9.

The Men in Green bowled out India on 119 in 19 overs after skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bowl first in New York.

However, the batting line-up of Pakistan tumbled and fell short of six runs to chase the target in the T20 World Cup 2024.