Waqar Younis disappointed with Shaheen Afridi's bowling against India

Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis didn't hold back in his criticism of Shaheen Afridi's subpar bowling performance against India in the Asia Cup Super 4 clash on Sunday.

After winning the toss Pakistan chose to field first but bowlers struggled to make an early breakthrough. In the very first over, India's captain, Rohit Sharma, smashed a six to Shaheen. Unfortunately, the left arm pacer struggled to find the right line and length after that initial six.

While his bowling partner, Naseem Shah, appeared threatening, Shaheen seemed far from his usual form. He was hit for three consecutive fours by Shubman Gill in his second over, and Gill struck him for three more fours in the fifth over, and overall Shaheen conceded 31 runs in his first three overs.

Waqar Younis expressed his disappointment with Shaheen's opening spell and remarked that the left-arm pacer exerted too much effort with the new ball.

“Shaheen was totally off-color with the new ball. Nobody in the Pakistan team line-up tried to bowl the short ball and the bouncers. The swing was there – Naseem showed it from the other end,” Waqar said.

“If you bowl in the right areas, you will trouble the batters. But Shaheen has to think hard, even in the previous match, although he bowled a brilliant 10 overs, he was off-color and tried too hard today and gave away easy boundaries,” he further added.

In his second spell, Shaheen performed better, conceding only six runs in 2 overs while also bagging Gill's wicket. However, before he could attempt to finish the game on a positive note, rain halted the day's play. 

At the rain interruption, India was at 147 for 2 in 24.1 overs. The remaining match will now be played on the reserve day on Monday.