Asia Cup: Danish Kaneria has advice for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma on tackling Shaheen Afridi

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has suggested that Indian top-order batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should not be afraid of Shaheen Afridi’s bowling and also explained how they can negate his fuller deliveries.

India and Pakistan will face each other in the upcoming Asia Cup in Dubai. Left-arm pacers have often troubled India batters, especially at the start of the tournament.

Afridi had punctured India’s batting line-up during their last match at the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. And he is expected to again pose a threat to the Indian top order.

Kaneria, speaking on his YouTube channel, explained how the Indian batters should play Afridi to negate the troubles he might cause.

"No need to be afraid of Shaheen Afridi because Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are world-class batters. They just need to be aware that Shaheen will look to bowl fuller and get the ball to swing into them. So they should be prepared to not commit with their leg but negotiate it with the bat by playing closer to the body,” Kaneria said.

He further added how Suryakumar Yadav will also play an important role. “Suryakumar Yadav's flick shots over square leg will also be important against Shaheen's bowling.”

India have had a poor history with left-arm pacers. Trent Boult in the 2019 World Cup and Shaheen Afridi in the T20 World Cup proved to have decisive spells against India. In recent times, Reece Topley on the tour of England and Obed McCoy on the tour of West Indies troubled the Indian batters.

India and Pakistan will face each other on 28 August in their opening match. The two sides are highly probable to face each other further one or two times in the tournament depending on the outcomes of other games.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.