Pakistan Batter Ahmed Shehzad Questions Indian Bowlers’ Intimidation Factor

Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad said Team India’s bowling attack lacked intimidation. He also had words of praise for Shoaib Akhtar.

This claim comes even as Team India achieved remarkable success both domestically and overseas.

Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad believes that the Indian cricket team lacks a bowler who can intimidate top-notch batsmen, despite their formidable bowling attack comprising exceptional players across various formats.

Recently, an injury-ridden Indian side reached the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia's Pat Cummins. In contrast, Babar Azam's Pakistan team finished in the seventh position during the previous edition of the WTC, only managing to surpass the West Indies and Bangladesh in the points table.

This claim comes even as Team India achieved remarkable success both domestically and overseas, securing the second spot in the WTC standings and earning their second consecutive final appearance in the ICC event.

Indian bowlers are skillful, not dangerous, says Ahmed Shehzad

During an interview with Nadir Ali on his podcast, Shehzad expressed his belief that Team India lacks a truly threatening bowler although he conveyed respect for their players. He mentioned the likes of Bumrah, Jadeja, and Ashwin as skilled bowlers but said that they don't possess the same level of danger as other bowlers.

As per Shehzad, Indian batsmen are the ones to watch out for. “They have good bowlers like Bumrah, Jadeja and Ashwin, but there has not been a dangerous bowler as such. Their batters are dangerous,” said Shehzad on the podcast.

To support his statement, the Pakistani batter reminisced about the bowling prowess of Shoaib Akhtar, also known as the Rawalpindi Express. Shehzad fondly remembered Akhtar's disciplined approach during net sessions, where he never bowled no-balls and refrained from delivering unnecessary bouncers to the batsmen. This strategy was rooted in Akhtar's understanding that such deliveries could potentially harm the batsmen.

"I can't recollect any other bowler apart from Shoaib Akhtar. When I was new to the team, he was already The Shoaib Akhtar. He had 2 great qualities. First, he never bowled no-balls in the nets. Second, he never bowled unnecessary bouncers to the batters in the nets. He knew the batter would get hurt,” Shehzad added.