Dale Steyn heaps praise on Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam

South Africa pacer Dale Steyn has lauded Pakistan’s ability to produce great fast-bowlers frequently.

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, the right-arm pacer also heaped praise on Pakistan’s young pacers, like Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.

“I had a chat with Shaheen with last year. I think he broke his thumb or hand or something like that last year. He was down but he was amazing,” said Steyn. “At Melbourne Star, I had Haris Rauf with me and I was so impressed by him and it wasn’t long after that he started playing for Pakistan.”

“There is a breeding machine of fast-bowlers here in Pakistan, which is great to see because the wickets are not conducive for fast bowlers so to see so many fast-bowlers come out of here is fantastic to see,” he added.

He also lauded Pakistan’s captain and one of the best T20 players in the world, Babar Azam.

“I’m looking forward to bowling to whoever is in front of me. Babar [Azam] is a great player. It really doesn’t matter who you are bowling against. Wahab Riaz came in last night [Zalmi vs Gladiators match], only faced eight balls and won the game for his side. So every player that you bowl to, comes with their difficulty,” he said.

“Babar is a wonderful player and it would be a great opportunity to try to get him out or bowl against him. But you never know, I might not even get to bowl at him because it’s only four overs or he might get a duck, who knows but he has been fantastic for the last couple of years,” he added.