I must admit Bilal has surprised me by how much he has improved his bowling in recent years under the tutelage of Mushy/the NCA.
Pakistan desperately need an offspinner in the test squad, and whilst we are now starting to see competition this year (Haseeb ur-Rehman, Waleed Khan, Sajid Khan and Ashiq Ali) I think Bilal is the most ready at the moment.
People will complain about his age (nearly 33) but he hasn't played very much cricket (only 21 FC games) and spinners can go on for years. At the very least he is a stop gap solution in that regard.
His FC average (31.08) and s/r (68.4) aren't exactly awe inspiring but if you look at his year by year stats they tell a different story:
Season Balls Mdns Runs Wkts BB Ave 5wI 10wM
2011-12 300 10 188 3 2-30 62.66 0 0
2013-14 703 30 272 12 4-54 22.66 0 0
2014-15 852 21 465 17 5-60 27.35 1 0
2016-17 1167 41 519 6 2-74 86.50 0 0
2017-18 730 18 306 14 6-70 21.85 1 1
2018-19 288 20 84 7 4-16 12.00 0 0
It's worth noting His S/R has been between the 40-50 range in recent years.
In the shorter format, he bowls a little quicker and the release point is slightly different. This helps him get drift and decent turn but he doesn't get the ball to drop as much. (Sidenote: I have previously said he is a much better option than the likes of Nawaz in the LOI squad and I still think that holds.)
In the longer format, he bowls slightly differently as shown by the above footage (thanks for posting it [MENTION=133760]Abdullah719[/MENTION]). He is bowling it a lot slower and has more of a high arm action. As a result he is getting the ball drop a lot more (not to mention turn and bounce) but doesn't seem to be getting quite as much drift.
I have also seen him bowl a very effective arm ball/topspinner which goes straight on with the arm.
I think a lot of people are put off by his first entry into international cricket as a batsman. Forget that. Now imagine I told you there was a tall offspinner who gets the ball to spin big, bounce, dip and drift and bowls with good control. Oh, and he can score some handy runs down the order. Add in the fact the need for an off-spinner is accentuated given the number of l/h in Australia's line up, he selects himself for the upcoming series in my opinion.
The other question mark has been about the legality of his action but the fact of the matter is he passed the ICC's test first time without any problem. Second, whilst his action looks a little unusual having watched some of his bowling closely I think he has a hyperextending wrist which explains the unusual aesthetics.
All in all, Bilal has been performing well in all formats in domestic cricket the last couple of years and if he gets a chance (most likely in tests) I think he might surprise a few people.
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