Notably, Shaheen Afridi has managed to secure just two wickets with an average of 51.50 in the two matches.
In Pakistan's recent thrilling chase against Sri Lanka where they successfully pursued a record chase of 344 runs, the Pakistani pace ace endured a challenging day.
He conceded 66 runs in nine overs while getting only a single wicket.
Waqar Younis emphasized the critical need for the Pakistan team to identify and address the issues that might be affecting Shaheen's performance.
He highlighted that Pakistan's success in the event greatly relies on the Landi Kotal-born cricketer's ability to consistently claim early wickets.
He further speculated that Shaheen might be dealing with an injury concern, which could explain his subpar performance in the first two CWC 2023 games for Pakistan.
With the highly-anticipated showdown against India on October 14, the former captain urged that Pakistan will need Shaheen at his best, especially considering his strong track record against India in significant matches.
“Pakistan’s success has come when Shaheen really picks up early wickets and over the years, he’s done it many times and, uh, and he’s got capacity, capability, but at the moment he’s trying too hard. He’s just falling all over the place, you know, bowling on the pads, outside the off stump he’s tried around the wicket over the wicket, nothing really worked for him, and I’m sure he will even sit back with Morne Morkel,” Waqar said to Star Sports.
“They’ll probably work out what is going wrong. I think there might be, uh, some action problem. What if he’s carrying any niggle or anything? If he can fix this issue and with that left arm ball coming in, you know, early doors,” he added.
