Can Wahab Riaz remodel himself like the Mitchell Johnson of 2013/2014?

[Suleiman]

Johnson was thought to be finished going in the 2013 Ashes, few people wanted him to retire earlier.

Instead of giving into critics he trained on his basics with Lillee and hit the gym harder than Afridi hits the ball packing on some decent muscle, and ofc grew a moustache.

Moustachio Johnson then breathed fire one last time going through an incredible mini peak for the season bowling unplayable deliveries.

The question is, can our Wab do the same? He said he is fast and furious, which is great and all but it's not winning us anything.

Think Shoaib Akhtar can be the Lillee like figure for him and train him to become even faster and be his gym buddy.

No need for Wasim or some established bowling coach to work with him as Wahab is a special player and doesn't believe in wrist position or anything else. He's above all that.

Needs someone with the same khooni mentality as him to work with him. Which is to bowl fast.

This Should've been done a while before, but never too late. Can even grow a goatee like MJ to announce himself after all the hardwork.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Simple answer is NO.

 

[Hasan123]

No he isn't as good as Johnson

 

[Donal Cozzie]

No because Wahab doesnt have a brain and relies totally on short balls.

 

[Pete Rose]

Doesn't have the action or line for it

 

[asfandyar]

This series is supposed to be hay day for seamers. Those who fail to derive reasonable benefits will only have themselves to blame.

 

[Hamza_]

Mitch Johnson was on another league during that period. Was watching YouTube highlights and it was just brutal stuff by Mitch, He was too good

 

[yasir_shah_fan]

Wahab isn't even half as good. This series should be his last chance after a some shoddy performances otherwise drop him for Ghulam Mudasser.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Wahab doesn't have the professional team that was working with Johnson. They got Johnson bowling in very tight lines(talking about action and run-up, not the delivery). Australians are very knowledgeable about fast bowling, Pakistani coaches won't even compare to their club coaches. So it's unfair to expect that from him.

That said, these pitches are ideal for his style of bowling so he should do well.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

No because Wahab doesnt have a brain and relies totally on short balls.

People used to say the same about Johnson and you clearly didn't watch the Ashes and the SA series.

 

[Saj]

Skill levels need inproving and an increase in consistency is needed by Wahab. Need him to be a matchwinner more often.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

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[moghul]

Too late to expect anything new from him. Could not improve his wrist position after almost 7 years of international cricket, lets not expect anything new from him.

 

[leatherface58]

The problem with most pacers in Oz is they think it's bouncy to they keep bowling short as opposed to slipping in full deliveries when least expected. Wahab can bowl a good spell or two where he picks a couple of wickets but then he lacks the consistency to run through sides and his figures end up taking a beating.

 

[Gilly]

The biggest problem I can see for Wahab is the over hyped spell to Watson will go to his head and he will bowl short thinking he can intimidate the batsmen.

 

[Junaids]

I am Mitch Johnson's biggest fan, and yes, there are similarities.

If Wahab played more Tests outside Asia he would have a much better record.

 

[Bilal7]

Anyone saying Riaz isn't good enough for that hasn't watched any of Pakistan's matches in the last WC. He most certainly can be our own MJ, the only question is if he'll be up for it.

 

[kingusama92]

Mitchell Johnson was a far better bowler than Wahab even when he was "bad".

He would have ups and downs but not to the extent Wahab does.

BUT, Wahab does have the skillset without a doubt. It pops up in small spells here and there where he becomes unplayable. It's sad he's never been able to harness this ability.

 

[street cricketer]

Wabster needs to grow the 'tache.

 

[JaDed]

He defn can but if he is going to be praised for every good spell then probably not.
People seem to forget steve smith wasn't that troubled by him in the same spell.

 

[Bilal7]

He defn can but if he is going to be praised for every good spell then probably not.
People seem to forget steve smith wasn't that troubled by him in the same spell.

Smith hardly faced him.

 

[JaDed]

Smith hardly faced him.

And whatever he did,he wasn't effected much that's the point.

 

[Slog]

Smith hardly faced him.

He was negotiating him with ease

 

[Cricfan4eva]

Pace can trouble any batsman but generally good bats use pace to their advantage.

Wahab doesn't have the same skill as MJ and it can't just come overnight. Wahab can still be useful as an attack option but only as a support role to Amir + another pace who will have to lead.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Its sort of funny how much people on this thread are praising Mitchell Johnson. Sure, yeah, he was a terrific bowler, still is but the fact is, before the 2014 Ashes, he wouldn't even make the team for ordinary tours. He was one of the weakest bowlers in the side, constantly leaking runs. He never had any terrific skills even when he came back. He just worked on his fitness, had good pace and was bowling short.

Wahab is far from that. He is, regarded by many international cricketers as one of the best fast bowlers going around. Now, I don't know if that's extremely accurate, but it sure is what it is.

Australia is a place where Riaz has previously found success which will give him further confidence and the pitches, which offer pace and bounce is something Riaz will feast on for those are his strongest two qualities. The main reason why MJ was so menacing was primarily because of his pacey bouncers and we all know that Wahab isn't someone who's afraid to bowl short even on flat pitches of UAE.

I'm no fan of him but the fact is, with Moh Amir as an able partner, Wahab Riaz might give his last shot in the beginning of the end of his career and it may prove more than enough for Pakistan as his pace can trouble a bunch of newbies in the squad.

The best part about Wahab Riaz is that, even when he is bowling poor and being hit all around the ground, it is evident that he still runs in with all that he has even he's bowling his 8th over on the trot. He seems to be a hardworking and honest individual who's willing to give all he has. A team man, no selfishness. That might just work for him in Australia because success is for those who work hard.

 

[Adil_94]

no Wahab is nowhere near good enough to match MJs feats.

 

[Abdullah719]

 

[DeadBall]

no Wahab is nowhere near good enough to match MJs feats.

Well, at least he has matched the moustache but I think that is about as close as he can come to MJ.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

No, we don't have the coaches or the pitches.

 

[jnaveen1980]

He is not a thinking bowler. That is his problem. His run up , leap somewhat reminds me of Zaheer. He has yorker, bouncer, shape away. He doesn't mix them in the right way to set up a batsman. Probably his closest actionwise is zaheer rather than Johnson .

 

[babajee]

I’m a fan of the new Wahab.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wahab Riaz with the Mitchell Johnson look & with figures of 4-0-19-2 bowled like Johnson at his best <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PSL2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PSL2018</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ej3paSayXD">pic.twitter.com/Ej3paSayXD</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/966776413281050624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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