T20 World Cup 2022: How much will Shaheen Afridi help after Pakistan's recent setbacks at the World Cup?

The latter happened when New Zealand hammered them by nine wickets in their latest tri-series encounter. Pakistan lost both openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam cheaply, and the frail middle order was exposed. 

Their score of 130-7 was by no means defendable, and New Zealand chased down the target while losing just one wicket in the process. 

However, Pakistan has a boost coming their way – star bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is fit and bowling again and will be available for the team's official warm-up encounters. 

And while there is a valid argument to be made that the return of their strike bowler won't help their middle order, it does add to an already desirable strength of Pakistan's – bowling attack. 

The team has an enviable array of pace bowlers in Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Wasim Jr. 

The addition of Shaheen to that side will make them even more lethal. Yes, he's still raw, but there's little doubt that he's a match-winner in form. 

And this Pakistan team has already shown how good their bowling is even without Shaheen. The left-arm pacer missed the Asia Cup, but Pakistan was still able to make it to the final of the continental cup. 

Then in the seven-match T20I series against England, Pakistan won a couple of very close games while defending low targets. 

This might have at least partially been down to a questionable batting approach from England in those games, but Pakistan's bowlers made it very tough on the batters at that given moment. 

Thus, there's a belief that Pakistan's chances of doing well in this World Cup hinge on two facets of their game – how well the openers do and how much weight the bowlers pull. 

There's little doubt the openers at this point – Rizwan and Babar are excellent players, whether batting individually or in tandem with one another. 

Of course, the questions about their strike rate abound, but part of the reason they bat this way is due to the unreliability of the middle order. 

The bowling also looks good, but Shaheen's presence elevates the threat that they carry. After all, who can forget how he got rid of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma in the first match of the previous T20 World Cup.

His ability not just as a bowler but also as a leader is underrated – remember, he took Lahore Qalandars to their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title this year. 

So while Shaheen's presence won't fix Pakistan's issues, it does add to the ridiculous strength of their bowling. And that might be enough to win them a few more games than they might have expected to succeed in this World Cup.