Tougher to bat against Shaheen than Starc or Boult: Fakhar Zaman

Pakistan cricket team opener Fakhar Zaman has said that Shaheen Shah Afridi — who is recognised as a frontline bowler in the national team — has proved himself to be a "tough bowler".

Shaheen is a really good bowler and playing against him is difficult, Zaman said during a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast. 

"Shaheen has proved himself as a tougher bowler," said the left-handed batter. "It is tougher to bat against Shaheen than Mitchell Starc or Trent Boult," he added.

Shaheen has represented Pakistan in 25 Tests, 36 ODIs, and 52 T20Is since his debut in 2018. After Mohammad Amir, Shaheen became the backbone of Pakistan's pace attack.

During the last year, Shaheen suffered a knee injury which ruled him out of cricket action for more than two months. He returned to play in the World Cup in Australia last year but got injured in the tournament's final.

After the mega event, he was once again off the field for a couple of months.

Zaman, who has represented Pakistan in 70 one-day internationals, also talked about the change in his technique.

"After 2016, my batting technique has changed a bit. I tried to work on my flaws and bring improvement to my game. I worked more on my power-hitting," he asserted.

Zaman has recently become the third Pakistani batter to score three consecutive centuries in ODIs. Before him, Saeed Anwar, Zaheer Abbas, and Babar Azam (twice) achieved this feat.