Pakistan's premium young left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi has hailed Australian great Mitchell Starc, revealing how watching him bowl during the Men's Cricket World Cup 2015 deeply influenced his own development. The admiration comes at a historic time, as Starc recently overtook Wasim Akram to become the only left-arm fast bowler with the most wickets in Test cricket.
“I hope I see him soon. Whenever we played against Australia, we had a very good chat. He’s a legend. Last time when we chatted, I told him I watched your 2015 spell. He is a world-class bowler," Afridi said while speaking to reporters.
“I can say he is a role model for any youngster. He crossed Wasim Akram's record. For any youngster, Mitchell Starc is currently the role model. he's been the best for Australia for many years."
Afridi, who is in Australia to play the Big Bash League, recalled being part of Pakistan's U16 team when Starc was ripping through opposition teams in the 2015 World Cup. Afridi mentioned that he tried to emulate Starc's fuller length and swing.
"When ‘Starcy’ played that 2015 World Cup, I was playing for the Under 16 Pakistan team at that time, so I followed him and Trent Boult to try to bowl many times the way they swung the ball. He (Starc) bowled a fuller ball throughout that World Cup and had very good success," Afridi said.