Shakib Al Hasan wants Afridi to perform in every match

The lion might be 37 now, but that doesn’t necessarily stop him from being the king of the jungle. Yesterday (November 11), former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi showed exactly why he got the nickname ‘Boom Boom’ in the first place. Playing for Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Afridi offered the spectators the best individual performance of this year’s Bangladeshi cricketing fiesta.

First up with the ball, he bamboozled the Sylhet Sixers’ batters with his devious spin. He took 4 wickets from his 4 overs, conceding just 12 runs. But that wasn’t the end of his one-man show. With the bat, the man who has a strike rate of over 150 in T20I cricket scored 37 runs from just 17 deliveries, 34 of which came from boundaries. Speaking of this exceptional all-round superiority, Afridi’s BPL captain Shakib Al Hasan said he wants Afridi to perform in every single match.

“We always expect performances like this from Afridi. That’s why we picked him. I hope he will perform in every match. I know that won’t happen, but we can turn in around in any situation,” said the man from Magura, Jessore, as per reports in bdcrictime.com.

Speaking about his side’s strong bowling lineup, he added, “I think bowling is more important than batting, especially in T20. There is Afridi-Narine, there is Rony too. We have a good combination. Batsman can’t perform well every time. But the bowling unit is our main strength.”

Nasir rues poor start for the loss

While Shakib celebrated a thumping victory, Sylhet Sixers’ skipper Nasir Hossain had to swallow a very bitter pill. The all-rounder blamed the poor start, which saw the away side lose 5 wickets within the first 6 overs after merely crossing the 30-run mark, for the defeat.

“Our momentum was bad right from the beginning. We didn’t start well in the first 6 overs. A good start is important for everyone. In the first three matches, we won because we had a good start. In this match it didn’t happen and that’s why we couldn’t score runs,” Nasir said.