‘Shaheen uske dimag me baith gaya hai’ – Shoaib Akhtar talks about India star batter struggling against Shaheen Shah Afridi

India and Pakistan are set to clash against each other in the Super 4 clash of the Asia Cup 2023 on September 10 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Pakistan have already won their first match of the Super 4 where they defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets. Their 2nd match will be against the Indian team which will be India’s first match of the Super 4.

Meanwhile, former legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar believes that Indian captain Rohit Sharma is afraid to face Shaheen Shah Afridi. He believes that Shaheen has instilled his fear in Rohit’s mind. Akhtar said that he had never seen Rohit changing his stance but he changed it in front of Shaheen and got bowled.

“Yeh Rohit Sharma woh Rohit Sharma hai hi nahi. Yeh uska stunt double hai. Shaheen uske dimaag mein baith gaya hai. (This is not the same Rohit Sharma. This one’s a stunt double. Shaheen has conquered his mind). I have never seen him change his stance, but what was happening there? Stance change kara, beat hua, bowled hua (He changed his stance and got bowled). Shaheen is subconsciously in his mind. This is what pressure of IND vs PAK match does to players,” Akhtar was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Rain is expected during India vs Pakistan Super 4 clash

Both teams clashed earlier on September 2 in the group stage match of the Asia Cup 2023 where the match got washed out due to rain after the first innings. The contest was between the Indian batters and Pakistani bowlers where Shaheen destroyed India’s top order and dismissed both Rohit and Virat Kohli inside the powerplay.

However, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya steadied the ship and stitched a much-needed partnership. Kishan scored 82 while Pandya managed to get 87 runs. The fans are hoping to see a full match as they don’t want to see the match getting spoiled again due to rain.