Can Pakistan still rely on Shaheen Shah Afridi as their main frontline bowler?

[FearlessRoar]

Shaheen Shah Afridi has been Pakistan’s go-to fast bowler for a while now, but his recent performances have raised serious questions. He’s known for his ability to take early wickets and put pressure on batters, but lately, he hasn’t been as effective.

In the recent home tri-series, Pakistan’s fast bowlers, led by Shaheen, struggled big time—picking up just 10 wickets at an average of 49.10. That’s a worrying sign. Then came the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where he went for 74 runs against India while taking just two wickets. It wasn’t the kind of performance Pakistan needed from their strike bowler.

Former cricketers like Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram have also pointed out problems with Pakistan’s bowling. Waqar slammed the lack of discipline, while Akram went as far as saying Pakistan’s attack looks worse than teams like Oman and the USA. Those are some harsh words, but they highlight the serious issues in the bowling unit.

Despite all this, Shaheen’s overall career stats are still solid—127 wickets in 64 ODIs at an average of 24.37. That shows he’s got the talent, but right now, he’s not in his best form. For Pakistan to depend on him as their frontline bowler, he needs to regain his confidence and rhythm. The team management also needs to step in, work on strategies, and maybe even manage his workload better. Otherwise, Pakistan could find themselves in deep trouble in big tournaments.

Also Shaheen Shah Afridi’s struggles in the death overs are getting harder to ignore in ODIs.

The numbers tell the story:

2023 – 21 wickets at an economy of 6.40 (Avg: 12.1, SR: 11.3)
2024 – Just 2 matches but a decent economy of 4.00 (Avg: 10.0)
2025 – A complete disaster! 9 overs, 133 runs, only 2 wickets, economy 14.78, dot % just 20.4

Nine sixes conceded this year already, and teams are targeting him at the death. Is it time to rethink his role in the final overs?

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Unfortunately he is finished too and time to move post him now

 

[Local.Dada]

Getting wickets of Rohit and Rahul is the worst thing that happened to him. He keeps trying for that magic ball Yorker in his first spell. Won’t work against any test nations including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe.

He has height; skills,pace all the tricks but keeps looking for that shortcut. Turning into the bowling version of his talented father in law.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Getting wickets of Rohit and Rahul is the worst thing that happened to him. He keeps trying for that magic ball Yorker in his first spell. Won’t work against any test nations including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe.

He has height; skills,pace all the tricks but keeps looking for that shortcut. Turning into the bowling version of his talented father in law.

He bowled 3 yorkers in a row. The whole world knows that he was trying to hit the stumps on every ball, yet our Rohit allowed him to hit the stumps.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

He is not good upfront either.

First ball is always the inswinging yorker.

Then the usual ball outside off stump.

Then trying to bring the ball in LBW.

IF that all fails, defensive bowling plus slower balls.

Yesterday took wicket of Rohit but went for like 60 in his 7 overs or so.

 

[Local.Dada]

He is not good upfront either.

First ball is always the inswinging yorker.

Then the usual ball outside off stump.

Then trying to bring the ball in LBW.

IF that all fails, defensive bowling plus slower balls.

Yesterday took wicket of Rohit but went for like 60 in his 7 overs or so.

He was going for the glory ball. Over attacking but in yesterday’s context was alright. However needs to use brains more often.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Getting wickets of Rohit and Rahul is the worst thing that happened to him. He keeps trying for that magic ball Yorker in his first spell. Won’t work against any test nations including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe.

He has height; skills,pace all the tricks but keeps looking for that shortcut. Turning into the bowling version of his talented father in law.

Keeping aside his performance from last night, which was an exhibition of arrogance and brainless bowling, there is something about has fundamentally changed since his injury. I don't know enough about the technical aspects of fast-bowling to decipher what it is (and it's not pace because he was bowling 140+ at the start last night). But when he was having that incredible run with the new-ball up till 2022, its not like batsmen didn't know that he would be bowling that fast, swinging yorker. And yet he was still able to get wickets with remarkable propensity. In a white-ball a wicket in the first over was practically guaranteed by Shaheen.

These pieces form 2021 and 2023 do a good job of capturing how good he was, and how much he has fallen off post-injury. First piece was actually written a few days before the 2021 T20 WC encounter between Pakistan and India.

Are you a T20 opener facing Shaheen Afridi? Be afraid, be very afraid

If you're Indian, make your own luck on Sunday: be smart and get off strike as quickly as you can

www.espncricinfo.com

Rockstar Afridi needs a new hit

His effectiveness with the new ball has reduced somewhat. Is he striving too hard for that magic ball?

www.espncricinfo.com

 

[mango_bite77]

Change the title to : Can Pakistan awam depend upon pakistan cricket to give them happiness and joy ?

 

[Barragan]

He ruined his career the moment he decided to play in the 2022 T20 world cup

That was the last time we saw the best of him and will probably never see him like that again

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Keeping aside his performance from last night, which was an exhibition of arrogance and brainless bowling, there is something about has fundamentally changed since his injury. I don't know enough about the technical aspects of fast-bowling to decipher what it is (and it's not pace because he was bowling 140+ at the start last night). But when he was having that incredible run with the new-ball up till 2022, its not like batsmen didn't know that he would be bowling that fast, swinging yorker. And yet he was still able to get wickets with remarkable propensity. In a white-ball a wicket in the first over was practically guaranteed by Shaheen.

These pieces form 2021 and 2023 do a good job of capturing how good he was, and how much he has fallen off post-injury. First piece was actually written a few days before the 2021 T20 WC encounter between Pakistan and India.

Are you a T20 opener facing Shaheen Afridi? Be afraid, be very afraid

If you're Indian, make your own luck on Sunday: be smart and get off strike as quickly as you can

www.espncricinfo.com

Rockstar Afridi needs a new hit

His effectiveness with the new ball has reduced somewhat. Is he striving too hard for that magic ball?

www.espncricinfo.com

Batsmen are aware that once they negotiate his first ball and first over, he is likely to be cannon fodder.

Cricket is about growth as a player.

Our players regress because they don't know the concept of personal growth.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

He is a 4 over bowler and ideally four of those overs should be with the new ball.

Beyond that he isn't too great.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Most overrated player in Pakistan history it's between him and Babar.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Batsmen are aware that once they negotiate his first ball and first over, he is likely to be cannon fodder.

Cricket is about growth as a player.

Our players regress because they don't know the concept of personal growth.

Yes but he was doing this over a period of 2+ years. It's not like the batsmen didn't know what was coming during those two years either. I think there is something deeper here, probably related to his knees. Because its not just this ball, he has completely changed as a bowler post-injury.

 

[Savak]

Getting wickets of Rohit and Rahul is the worst thing that happened to him. He keeps trying for that magic ball Yorker in his first spell. Won’t work against any test nations including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe.

He has height; skills,pace all the tricks but keeps looking for that shortcut. Turning into the bowling version of his talented father in law.

Dale Steyn was pulling his hair out in the commentary box and saying dude, you have to try something else and stop being so predictable.

 

[Savak]

Shaheen's bowling IQ has not developed.

 

[FearlessRoar]

This is what Ian Bishop recovered from—can Shaheen do it too?

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[FearlessRoar]

Shoaib Malik, while speaking on a TV show:

"I feel that he [Shaheen Shah Afridi] needs to improve his game awareness."

"When Rohit Sharma was attacking him, he needed to counterattack—either with slower balls or yorkers, just like the one that got him bowled."

"Against Shubman Gill, he should have pulled his length slightly back. That would have created an opportunity for an edge or a false shot."

"If you bowl four deliveries outside off, you create something. Just like Sikandar mentioned—you have to create chances to take wickets."

"Game awareness, especially in ODI cricket, is crucial because matches go through different phases, and your spells must adapt to those phases."

"You don’t just have to assess the conditions; you also have to assess which batters are operating and how they are playing."

 

[Kianig89]

Absolutely Not, leave him for mercenary league

 

[moghul]

Yes, Shaheen is your go to man , only if you want to finish the match early and losing .

 

[kingusama92]

If you have to play Shaheen in the side, you need to use him as a new ball striker.

He's too erratic and stubborn to bowl when batsmen are slogging.

This also means including a death-over specialist in the XI who will bowl in the second half of the innings including 5-6 overs at the end.

 

[Shaka81]

Sadly he's lost whatever spark he had and is now just predictable canon fodder for any decent batsman. He's tried to add batting to cover for his loss of bowling ability but he's not particularly good at that either. He needs dropped to go work his game out or fade into obscurity.

 

[Justcrazy]

He needs to move away from Cricket and for 6 - 8 months . Work on his fitness and take a solid mentor like Donald , Bond etc to guide him.

Come back after that , he will be a better bowler.

 

[Hitman]

Serious question, do you guys believe his official age is genuine? How can a 24 year old regress so quickly?

 

[charlie007]

He’s young and I think he’ll come back stronger. Look, the skills are there- he has an ok pace but he can increase that; he still has the swing, that ball to Rohit was a jaffa! In my opinion it’s too early to give up on him especially, and largely on all Pakistan pace bowlers including Naseem and Rauf. Important thing is to get fitter and come back stronger but only when fully fit.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Nope. Shaheen cannot be trusted in eath overs. He has been going above 15 RPO in deathovers. We need to stop overhyping him now. He is not the best bowlers anymore.

 

[Sachin fan]

Yes but he was doing this over a period of 2+ years. It's not like the batsmen didn't know what was coming during those two years either. I think there is something deeper here, probably related to his knees. Because its not just this ball, he has completely changed as a bowler post-injury.

Once a bowler starts getting known for certain deliveries, batsmen also start practicing for those. They adjust their techniques.

Which is why you need a lot of variety and need to keep studying batsmen as well and their weaknesses.

Pakistani players don't seem to want to put in the hard work and study batsmen and variety.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Aaqib Javed, while addressing the press conference, explained the reason for dropping Shaheen from ODIs while retaining him in the T20I squad for the tour of New Zealand:

"It’s about the effectiveness of a player in ODIs. If a player is not fulfilling the team’s requirements, then decisions are taken accordingly. But I still believe Shaheen is a very good bowler in T20s and can bring results for the team. That doesn’t mean he will only play T20s forever. It’s the selectors’ responsibility to take the right decisions at the right time."

 

[FearlessRoar]

Mohammad Hafeez, during a show on a local TV channel:

“First, Shaheen Afridi is dropped from the Test squad, and the reason given is that he is being rested. But Shaheen himself says, ‘I am not resting; I have been dropped.’ Yes, he hasn’t been performing well in ODIs, and failure is a different issue, but this is not the right approach."

"First, he was removed from Tests, then from ODIs—so what exactly is Shaheen Afridi’s role now?”

 

[NishanKonar]

Serious question, do you guys believe his official age is genuine? How can a 24 year old regress so quickly?

Said this many times on this forum. He is 30 plus , not 24 and his regression has more to do with age than fitness

 

[Xoib]

Said this many times on this forum. He is 30 plus , not 24 and his regression has more to do with age than fitness

I can vouch for Shaheen age between 2004-2006 I was part of Rashid Latif cricket academy and his brother Riaz afridi regularly practiced there and Shaheen was often accompanying him and he was no more then 5-6 years at that time not every decline is related to age fudging shall we assume Kohli is 40 plus as his run making dropped dramatically post 2019

 

[Savak]

He is an Akhroat bowler. Zero Cricketing IQ and someone who just bowls on instinct. Just because he got Rohit Lbw in 2021 with the inswinger, he thinks the formula will work everytime he bowls it and that Rohit is a bum who will not be ready, prepared for it next time. When the inswinger doesn't work, he has nothing else to fall back on.

 

[Justcrazy]

He needs a long break , and work on his fitness . He needs to add more stamina and move on from being a 4 over bowler.
Right now , if he is playing , he is going no where.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

He is a 4 over bowler and ideally four of those overs should be with the new ball.

Beyond that he isn't too great.

Even then you are crossing your fingers that he will wake up that morning in good form. He can be crazy dangerous with the new ball when his line is right, but if he gets up on the wrong side of the bed, he can just as easily spray two down the legside and and a half volley just in one over.

 

[RizwanT20Champ]

Even then you are crossing your fingers that he will wake up that morning in good form. He can be crazy dangerous with the new ball when his line is right, but if he gets up on the wrong side of the bed, he can just as easily spray two down the legside and and a half volley just in one over.

True that, I am sure even current Imran Khan would bowl better....

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Even then you are crossing your fingers that he will wake up that morning in good form. He can be crazy dangerous with the new ball when his line is right, but if he gets up on the wrong side of the bed, he can just as easily spray two down the legside and and a half volley just in one over.

He should focus solely on t20s. He doesn't want to play tests or first class and doesn't have the appetite for 10 overs. If he focuses on bowling 4 over spells only he can maximise his potential.

 

[jamie smith]

True that, I am sure even current Imran Khan would bowl better....

Dont devalue IKs legacy by comparing him with trundlers like Shaheen.

 

[Hellion]

Crazy posts. Without Shaheen , Pakistan's ODI bowling is toast.

He's not even the worst bowler in this side. It's easily tepiya Rauf.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

He should focus solely on t20s. He doesn't want to play tests or first class and doesn't have the appetite for 10 overs. If he focuses on bowling 4 over spells only he can maximise his potential.

Yes, and I agree that he should bowl at least 3 of those 4 overs with the new ball, preferably all of them. That is when he is dangerous, he is not a good death bowler these days. I am not sure he ever was.

 

[mb3407]

I can vouch for Shaheen age between 2004-2006 I was part of Rashid Latif cricket academy and his brother Riaz afridi regularly practiced there and Shaheen was often accompanying him and he was no more then 5-6 years at that time not every decline is related to age fudging shall we assume Kohli is 40 plus as his run making dropped dramatically post 2019

Kohli has been the second highest run scorer since 2019. Bad example.

 

[SportsWarrior]

Said this many times on this forum. He is 30 plus , not 24 and his regression has more to do with age than fitness

he is not 30+, probably around 27/28.