As Pakistan gears up for the Super 4s showdown against India in the Asia Cup, legendary pacer Wasim Akram has delivered a pointed message to Shaheen Shah Afridi: stop overusing yorkers and learn to vary your length.
Akram, one of cricket&rsquo;s finest fast bowlers, highlighted how Oman pacer Shah Faisal dismissed Shubman Gill in Abu Dhabi with a perfectly pitched delivery that swung late and crashed into the off-stump.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s exactly what I want Shaheen to do,&rdquo; Akram said. &ldquo;The world now knows he starts with yorkers. One or two are fine, but not back-to-back. If he misses even once, it&rsquo;s a boundary. He thinks it&rsquo;s aggressive, but mixing it up with fuller length balls is smarter.&rdquo;
<h3 data-start="1091" data-end="1131">Afridi Struggles with the Ball</h3>
So far, Afridi&rsquo;s bowling has underwhelmed. He has only three wickets in the tournament, two of them against UAE and went wicketless against India as the Suryakumar Yadav-led side cruised to victory by seven wickets.
Ironically, Afridi has made more impact with the bat than the ball. His fighting cameos of 33* and 29* against India and UAE earned him praise, and his quickfire innings against UAE even bagged him the Player of the Match award.
<h3 data-start="1586" data-end="1622">Gill in Focus for Pakistan</h3>
Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill, who has struggled in the tournament so far, remains Pakistan&rsquo;s prime target. Gill was undone by Faisal&rsquo;s sharp inswinger earlier, and Afridi will now be under pressure to expose the same weakness in Dubai.
Pakistan finished second in Group A and will lock horns with India in the much-anticipated Super 4s clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Wasim Akram urges Afridi to vary length, not rely on yorkers, to unsettle Gill

Akram to Shaheen: Change plan vs Gill

Wasim Akram urges Afridi to vary length, not rely on yorkers, to unsettle Gill

September 20, 2025 | 16:47 IST