No swing, no problem as Pakistan’s top pacer Shaheen aims for lofty victories

Pakistan spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has become cricket’s top-ranked bowler but his prime concern is keeping his country in the World Cup.The 23-year-old, who has 16 wickets at the tournament, has displaced Australian quick Josh Hazlewood at the top of the pile, taking the honour for the first time since making his international debut in 2018.Afridi claimed 3-23 in the seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in Kolkata on Tuesday, a victory which kept alive their slim hopes of making the semi-finals.His dismissal of Bangladesh opener Tanzid Hasan also gave him a 100th wicket in his 51st one-day international."I am delighted at completing 100 ODI wickets but the biggest thing is that all these wickets are for Pakistan and my goal is always to do something that helps us win,” said Shaheen.Shaheen’s success in India has come despite a lack of swing, prompting him to adjust his sights in the campaign."I watched some of the IPL matches this year and there was not much swing,” said Shaheen."So I am not much surprised. But this is not for me only, it’s for other left armers like (Mitchell) Starc and (Trent) Boult also.”He added: "I knew there will be less swing so the effort is on keeping a proper line and length and that is very important.”Shaheen also hailed fellow fast bowlers Haris Rauf (2-36 against Bangladesh) and Mohamed Wasim (3-31). "It was not easy for Wasim to sit on the bench and then on getting an opportunity he bowled very well in both the games he has played,” said Shaheen."Haris has speed and has played a key role in white ball cricket for Pakistan. It is good for Pakistan cricket to have bowlers like them.”With the win against Bangladesh, Pakistan have six points from seven games.They not only need to win their remaining two matches but also hope other results go their way if they are to make the semi-finals.On Tuesday, besides Afridi’s three wickets openers Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique made 81 and 68 respectively as Pakistan chased down a 205-run target for the loss of three wickets with 105 balls to spare."We know when Fakhar plays the way he can for 20-30 overs it is a different ball game. So we let him play his natural game and it is good to see,” said captain Babar Azam of Zaman, the only Pakistan batsman to have scored a double century in one-day international cricket. Azam added: "We started well. Shaheen took early wickets. The main thing is we stuck to our length in the middle overs and we took wickets.” Fakhar, a 33-year-old left-hander, was playing only his second match of the tournament after being sidelined with a knee injury. "We were anxiously waiting for this win,” said Zaman."Every win in the World Cup boosts the confidence and our aim is to win the remaining two matches. Our target is semi-final.”Zaman also said the impact of his injury was not as severe as first feared. "I was batting well in the nets and had the team needed me before I would have played but my aim is to always score runs that help the team win.”