Shaheen picks South Africa legend over Kohli as toughest batter to bowl against

Web Desk
KARACHI: Left-arm Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi picked South Africa’s batting legend Hashim Amla ahead of India’s Virat Kohli as the toughest batter he has bowled against in his ongoing international career.
Amla, who made his international debut for South Africa in 2004, went on to become one of the most iconic batters of their history, accumulating 18672 runs across formats with the help of 55 centuries and 80 fifties. Although the right-handed batter concluded his glittering career in 2019, he faced emerging Shaheen in two Tests and six ODIs.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Famer was dismissed by the left-arm pacer only twice in ODIs and remained unbeaten in the longest format. Consequently, Shaheen, while speaking at a podcast, Bricks to Riches, hailed Amla as his toughest batting opponent. “Hashim Amla,” he replied. “I’ve played test matches and ODIs against him, and he’s a tough competitor. I have also played a match against him in the Vitality Blast— a Twenty20 cricket tournament in England. I felt that he’s a very good batsman, and he is very good at what he does,” he added.
In response, the host asked Shaheen whether Amla was tougher than Kohli, leading to the left-arm pacer dismissing the comparison by terming the latter as a ‘different player’ but reiterated the former South African as the ‘absolute toughest’. “Virat Kohli is a different player, but Hashim bhai [brother], he’s the toughest. Absolute toughest,” he remarked.