Former Pakistan fast bowler Muhammad Aamir Tuesday heaped praises on left-arm speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi for showing grit and passion to deliver goods for the team in the World Twenty20.

Talking to 24Digital, Aamir said it was already miraculous that Afridi was playing in the event despite suffering a knee injury.

“A knee injury is quite detrimental for a fast bowler and it is praiseworthy that Afridi made himself available for the World Twent20 for the team by putting his body in line. A said fast bowler needs a lot of time to regain his fitness and rhythm after suffering such an injury. But how Afridi makes a comeback to competitive cricket at the highest level in such a short span of time shows his passion and love for the game and his team.”

Aamir said it was a very good omen for Pakistan that Afridi was going into the semi-finals with some wickets to his name as it would boost his confidence.

However, Aamir said Afridi is till far from his full fitness and rhythm yet and one should praise him for delivering for the team despite lacking in these areas.

The former Pakistan speedster said Pakistan batters need to play attacking cricket and the management should not further experiment in the batting department at this stage.

Aamir said the New Zealand team was the best performer in the tournament so far and they were hard to beat.

He said Pakistan need to do something extra to overcome the Black Caps challenge as till now they have not shown any weaknesses in their game.

Aamir said on paper the New Zealand are favourites in the semi-final.

On a question regarding the Pakistan team's win over the Black Caps in the final of the recently-held tri-series in New Zealand, Aamir said the pressure of a World Cup game and a series match was quite different.

He said in the knock-out stages of a World Cup match, every game has its own pressure and whichever team could handle the pressure better that would emerge victorious.