Shahid Afridi gives strange logic behind Indian pacers' success

Add as a preferred source on Google

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has pointed out the reason Indian bowlers have performed well in world cricket in recent years. The 43-year-old believes as the Indian bowlers have started eating meat, they have gained strength.

Shahid Afridi made the claim during a local sports show adding that the quality of cricket has changed in the country over the years. India have a range of pacers in their rosters now including the likes of Umran Malik, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan among a range of others who regularly bowl at a speed above 145kmph.

"India has a huge 1.4 billion population, and the quality of cricket has changed (over the years). Back then we used to say that they are producing great batters while Pakistan is creating good bowlers, but that was not the case as we were generating both bowlers and batters. However, their bowlers have now started eating meat, so they have gained strength," Afridi said.

In the past, India lacked genuine pacers and have always been known to be a nation of great batters for producing the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar among an array of talented batters. On the other side of the border, Pakistan created legends in both departments and always churned out a battery of pacers, who could clock above the 140s. The list included Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, and Shoaib Akhtar among others.

Shahid Afridi further praised Sourav Ganguly for giving new direction to Indian cricket under his captaincy while crediting MS Dhoni for carrying his legacy to the next level.

"First Sourav Ganguly made so many changes during his captaincy and then the way MS Dhoni carried all the seniors with him. They (BCCI) invested in the right place. They improved their grassroots level cricket by giving the entire domestic system to a player like Rahul Dravid, who knows what the kids (domestic players) need to reach the top," he said.