What's new

How overrated is Pakistan's bowling?

S

superfan

Debutant
Joined
Feb 28, 2010
Runs
163
Post of the Week
1
Mohammad Amir seems to have already become the main bowler after being out for 5 years. M. Irfan is always being hyped as this major threat, but I can’t recall one match where he has been effective in recent memory. I can recall quite a few matches in recent times where he was hit all around the ground. Wahab Riaz just seems to riding that one performance against Australia from the last year’s World Cup, a match we actually lost.

I can go on and on about Afridi and Anwar Ali’s below par performances with the ball, but you get the point. The fact of the matter is we’ve failed to defend small and big totals in recent months. I am not talking about one or two matches. I just don’t understand why Pakistan bowling is perceived to be good? Is it just better than their terrible batting?
 
Extremely overrated.At present, our bowling is at par with Bangladesh.

India is miles ahead of us.

Sent from my Lenovo A6000 using Tapatalk
 
Totally overrate , Only Amir is bowler which can see in the eye of batsmen. else i cannot see any bowler in team. In Domestic Asghar is the only bowler which can do this.
 
Very overrated. I think other than Amir maybe everyone else are just not good enough for international cricket, or domestic cricket, or any cricket at all.
 
Pakistan is the most overrated team. You guys over hype your players beyond imagination. Amir and Shah are great players and Junaid was awesome for a while. Everyone else is just meh.
 
The bowling is overrated by Pakistani fans. I think it is a very good bowling attack, but not one that will win you matches on their own. Until Pakistan start putting up competitive batting totals, the bowling will always be seen to under-deliver.
 
They are talented but can't take wickets when it matters most, so overall it's pretty useless talent.
 
Pete Rose said:
The bowling is overrated by Pakistani fans. I think it is a very good bowling attack, but not one that will win you matches on their own. Until Pakistan start putting up competitive batting totals, the bowling will always be seen to under-deliver.
Click to expand...

about the most sensible thing i have read today.
 
Very

And has been for a few years

Ajmal and Hafeez ban just finished it off
 
If you think they are the best bowling line up in the world, then they are overrated.

But they are a pretty good one on their day.
 
They are behind Aus, Eng and SA and at same level as NZ ( dont rate them much) and slightly better than India.
 
Astonishingly over rated! We can judge this by seeing that Sami is our best fast bowler after Amir at present :)))
 
Overrated less but some of them have everything but no brain to develop their skils to the next level of becoming great.

All it is required for some bowler is to keep it simple. I mean look at wahab Smith left the whole stumps yet he bowls at him and get a 4...😂😂 I mean i have never seen such a dumb bowler in my life not from the land of Pakistan who has created some amazingly dangerous bowlers in the past. You teach someone everything but how he makes that into his success its upto him.

Future ATTACK SHOULD BE LIKE THE FOLLOWING.

Amir
Junaid
Aamer Yamin
Hassan Ali
Asghar
I would play Irfan over Wahab in Eng ODIs.

Imad Wasim
Nawaz should be in ODI and T20 squads as well.
 
Totally overrated. Except Amir, no Pakistani bowler will make it to Bangla or India XI.
 
Pakistani bowling is as overrated as Indian batting.
Both are good only on papers.
 
M Irfan and Wahab are overrated.

However, bowling doesn't win you matches anymore as it used to in the 90's and before. Cricket is all about batting these days.

Every team win matches because of it's batting today. This fact makes pakistani bowling looks worse than it actually is.
 
Give this bowling attack to a good captain and see how it delivers:

Amir
Irfan
Riaz
Sami
Shah
Malik
 
Amir Wahab and Yasir plus another seamer possibly Asif can make us a pretty strong Test attack. But in LOIS I'm not sure about us tbh.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
I will be attacked for this but IMO, currently Amir is the most over hyped of all. Amir was a passenger the whole world cup and Sami out bowled him most matches. If Amir had achieved Sami's figures in NZ match, 4 overs 24 for 2, in a match where opposition scored 180+ and saint Amir went for 41, there would be songs about him.
 
If this bowling attack concedes 180 and 193 in 20 overs and these are the two highest totals conceded by any team in the group (other than Bangladesh) then that tells you how overrated this bowling attack has been in T20WC.
 
Indiafan said:
I will be attacked for this but IMO, currently Amir is the most over hyped of all. Amir was a passenger the whole world cup and Sami out bowled him most matches. If Amir had achieved Sami's figures in NZ match, 4 overs 24 for 2, in a match where opposition scored 180+ and saint Amir went for 41, there would be songs about him.
Click to expand...

I would judge Amir overall after atleast 6 months to a year.
 
To be Honest its a very average bowling attack at the moment

Even Amir is overrated he hasn't done much on flat tracks went for tons of runs..

Those days of Wasim , Imran are gone
 
Amir is a fantastic bowler.... Don't go by the thrashing he received on flat tracks. As a loi bowler though he is on par with Mustafzur and maybe Bumrah. Fans were calling him better than Steyn and Anderson leave alone Starc Boult etc :)) but still pakistans best bowler by a mile.

Sami,Irfan and Wahab are as ordinary as they come.... Just because they hit 140+ occasionally they are supposedly world beaters lol.

We indian fans want Ishant Aron Yadav and Shami all who can hit 140+ consistently to play in tests but apart from Shami every indian fan will tell you that they are a liability in LOIs especially T20s especially in SC,

Afridi is maybe in the league of Jadeja as a bowler these days....yes, he used to be a wonderful utility bowler in a team full of star bowlers but really as a standalone strike spinner? Cmon..... He won't be threatening 9/10 times against big teams....yes while chasing if the team over attacks him he will be dangerous but that is a mark of a bowler who is better than a parttimer but not a strike bowler much in the league of Jadeja or even say Shane Watson v 2014- date.

Imad wasim seems a very ordinary darter....what happened to bowlers who can spin the ball(without chucking that is???)

Please don't see this post as a condescending comment coming from an indian fan....I am trying to be as objective as possible.

Just FYI I am not calling the indian bowling attack a world beating unit by any means....just apples to apples meaning the current Pak attack vs bigger teams like India Nzl Eng Wi Sa and Aus

On an out on out flat track good chance that the Pakistani seamers mentioned might do better than Pandya or even Bumrah given their extra zip but their batsmen might let them down and that's a debate for another day but on sporting pitches eg, green tracks and dustbowls the Pakistani attack bar Aamir is pretty ordinary.

Simple basics seem to be lost..now let me tell you this man to man Sami is a better bowler than Pandya but look at Pandyas final over vs Bangladesh, as fluky as it was and as much as brainless Bangladeshi batsmen gifted it to us.... Credit has to be given to him for not bowling a single wide or no ball.... Can Sami be trusted under the same circumstance?

Since that Yorker to Yuvraj in 2011 Mohali....Has Wahab ever pitched the ball up??? I have always seen him try and bounce out the batsmen...be it India UAE or Australia.... Can he swing or Seam the ball?

Irfan is useful for 2-3 overs and then I have seen him tonked around even by tail Enders bowling a military medium Of 125ks.

Though the guy gets a lot of hate here for not being phaaaast as average as he is.... Anwar Ali is the only guy I have seen swinging or atleast try to swing the ball....he might do better than Wahab Sami and Irfan in eng or nzl.

So don't know why the talk of Pakistan having a superior attack is brought up all the time.... This is not 1999 or even 2010....I see even Bangladesh , Ireland and Zimbabwe batsmen playing Pak bowling without respect which is very weird.... Trust me being an Indian fan I know it when I see that the opposition batsmen have absolutely no fear while facing your bowlers.
 
They should do away with their fake aggression and actually learn a thing or two about smart bowling. Yes as of now very overrated bunch.
 
Severely.

I've only seen Pakistanis claim it is the "best bowling attack" at times whilst laughing at the SAF attack for conceding ~200 before the Pak bowlers themselves proceeded to concede about 200 themselves to Australia.

Irfan is all height no substance. He's in his mid 30s trundling like no tomorrow.

Wahab is hit or miss.

Sami is a bottler but at least he can still bowl like a sane human being. Amir is unproven on flat decks, got smacked good vs NZ and Aus, but he'll learn. However him alone can't save anything.

This is as far as LOIs go.

In tests, I think Pakistan can field an excellent bowling attack, esp overseas.

Amir
Asif / Ehsan
Yasir
Wahab
Yamin


2 pacers who can exploit the new cherry really well. Ehsan has fixed his action, doesn't collapse, and was swinging the ball on UAE graveyards. Asif is Asif, who was Asif, and still is as Asif as Asif was 5 years back. He older, wiser, but just as cunning and a genius. He might be more crucial than Amir in England.

Yamin is a batsman first but think can be a very poor man's Stokes. Only if Hafeez could still bowl as well...

Wahab has done his part in UAE, and kind of like Mitch Jo, should be limited to tests only.

Messi has adjusted to intl cricket very very quickly and will be esp crucial in Aus.

This attack is potentially standing between Pakistan and minnow status, as I feel the batting overseas is too geriatric and will let us down.
 
Last edited:
Extremely overrated. Have lost the match for them inspite if having secured a 100 run lead in English conditions. They have been treacherously poor all series except for Yasir at Lords.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Agreed. India bat pathetically overseas no doubt.
Click to expand...

Tbh apart from those 3 matches in England Indian batting has really held up well overseas.

Pakistan bowling has been really poor overseas. Even in SA 2013 the bowling could not do anything.
 
geraltofrivia said:
Tbh apart from those 3 matches in England Indian batting has really held up well overseas.

Pakistan bowling has been really poor overseas. Even in SA 2013 the bowling could not do anything.
Click to expand...

Lol India kept getting disposed off in 3 -4 days in one sided matches.
Not sure about either of the bowling or batting.
 
ethan hunt said:
Lol India kept getting disposed off in 3 -4 days in one sided matches.
Not sure about either of the bowling or batting.
Click to expand...

??? Like I said only those 3 matches. Every other match Indian batsmen batted really well. 2 in SA, 2 in NZ, 2 in England, 4 in Australia.

But again I won't argue. The England cricket team's reply today is enough as it will be at the Oval and then NZ's reply and then Oz's reply. It's gonna be a good year.
 
Lol some posters defending their precious bowling attack. If they've done badly either, wonder what will happen in Australia. They'll get carted at 5 RPO by OZ FTBs. :srini
 
geraltofrivia said:
??? Like I said only those 3 matches. Every other match Indian batsmen batted really well. 2 in SA, 2 in NZ, 2 in England, 4 in Australia.

But again I won't argue. The England cricket team's reply today is enough as it will be at the Oval and then NZ's reply and then Oz's reply. It's gonna be a good year.
Click to expand...

Lol . Than just be patient . You will get your chance to bump threads .
As it stands pakistan have already won as much as the ordinary indian side did and are competing better . Lets see.
 
You will face the music when you drop your best Test fast bowler for three Tests in a four match Test series.

Rahat and Amir are overrated.
 
ethan hunt said:
Lol . Than just be patient . You will get your chance to bump threads .
As it stands pakistan have already won as much as the ordinary indian side did and are competing better . Lets see.
Click to expand...

No you arent competing better.At this stage of the tour after 3 test India were 1-1.Pakistan looks likely to be down 1-2 atm if they lose today.

The only difference is we played 5 tests and Pakistan are playing 4 tests .
 
BeautifulGame said:
No you arent competing better.At this stage of the tour after 3 test India were 1-1.Pakistan looks likely to be down 1-2 atm if they lose today.

The only difference is we played 5 tests and Pakistan are playing 4 tests .
Click to expand...

This test was better faught than anythinh india did over two tours to england .
Nasser and vaughan on commentary said as such

Plus there is a test to go . Could end up as a drawn series.
 
ethan hunt said:
This test was better faught than anythinh india did over two tours to england .
Nasser and vaughan on commentary said as such

Plus there is a test to go . Could end up as a drawn series.
Click to expand...

We won and drew a test in last tour.Pakistan has won one lost one and looks likely to lose this one.

How the hell is a test were Pakistan cant bat 80odd overs is more competitive than the the test were India batted out 125 overs to comfortably draw.This test is lot closer because of the Pakistan collapse not more competitive than the tests India won o drawn last tour.Its delusional to think otherwise becoz there is a difference between facts and opinion.

Yes Pakistan will have had a much better series if u draw the series no doubt about that.But to claim such at this stage is completely nonsense.
 
BeautifulGame said:
We won and drew a test in last tour.Pakistan has won one lost one and looks likely to lose this one.

How the hell is a test were Pakistan cant bat 80odd overs is more competitive than the the test were India batted out 125 overs to comfortably draw.This test is lot closer because of the Pakistan collapse not more competitive than the tests India won o drawn last tour.Its delusional to think otherwise becoz there is a difference between facts and opinion.

Yes Pakistan will have had a much better series if u draw the series no doubt about that.But to claim such at this stage is completely nonsense.
Click to expand...
We are arguing over who is more mediocre.
India won 1 test over a 13 test long touring cycle .
Pakistan have played 3 and won 1 so far .
 
ethan hunt said:
This test was better faught than anythinh india did over two tours to england .
Nasser and vaughan on commentary said as such

Plus there is a test to go . Could end up as a drawn series.
Click to expand...

In honesty, India lost the 3 tests pathetically, but competed or outdid England in 2.

Pakistan, even though have lost this test, did compete here. So far they have been competent in 2 and last 1 badly. The scores one may end up being 1-3 for both India and Pak. But Pak would have competed better. Only slightly though.

India though did compete in all test matches in NZ and AUS. The question is whether Pak would be able to do the same there. India did compete a lot better than Pak in our previous series in SA though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
BTW, does there need to be a thread on this everyday.

Yeah, they are not as good as people hoped, but cut them some slack


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
ethan hunt said:
We are arguing over who is more mediocre.
India won 1 test over a 13 test long touring cycle .
Pakistan have played 3 and won 1 so far .
Click to expand...

Lets see what happened in 13 tests.

India lost 1-0 to SA,Pakistan lost 3-0 to SA.

India lost 3-1 to ENG Pakistan is already down 2-1

And i would be surprised if Pakistan comes even close to drawing a test in AUS.

The only place Pakistan can out do India is NZ.
 
Ha, I'm just amused at all the hyperbole about Amir being the next Akram and how he was going to school Anderson and Broad and how he's already better than them. One's a modern great and the other one will be regardless, Amir has been outbowled by our #3 quick.

Too much expectation over Amir stemming from one golden summer. If Ishant's career was based only off his spell to Ponting, he'd be an ATG. Status is earned, and Amir isn't there yet.
 
The true pace bowlers have dried up. No more genuine FAST bowlers left. The only guys who have real pace are Sami and Riaz, and they are mediocre as well
 
Ruri said:
Ha, I'm just amused at all the hyperbole about Amir being the next Akram and how he was going to school Anderson and Broad and how he's already better than them. One's a modern great and the other one will be regardless, Amir has been outbowled by our #3 quick.

Too much expectation over Amir stemming from one golden summer. If Ishant's career was based only off his spell to Ponting, he'd be an ATG. Status is earned, and Amir isn't there yet.
Click to expand...

Kind of agree here. Too much hype also puts extra pressure. Fans should just let him play 4-5 series and treat him like any other bowler. Amir will be better off that way.
 
Easy to overlook, that in terms of Test experience, none of the bowlers have actually played 20 Test matches.
 
Buffet said:
Kind of agree here. Too much hype also puts extra pressure. Fans should just let him play 4-5 series and treat him like any other bowler. Amir will be better off that way.
Click to expand...

I have no issue with bowlers earning it. Woakes is having a much better series than the last series went for Amir or even Anderson who went full destroyer. But you never see Woakes being hyped as an ATG-to-be. We hope he can match Anderson once he retires, but nothing in cricket is earned without consistency. A good long career is the best judge of a player's skill.
 
Bhaag Viru Bhaag said:
Not as good as it looks on paper.
Click to expand...

Why do you think it looks good on paper? Yasir can actually do well on last match and I do hope that he does well.

Bowlers had to earn it and apart from Yasir, no one has earned it so far. I am not talking about talent etc here, but actual performance for a period. Apart from Yasir, it's non-existent.
 
cricketjoshila said:
Lets see what happened in 13 tests.

India lost 1-0 to SA,Pakistan lost 3-0 to SA.

India lost 3-1 to ENG Pakistan is already down 2-1

And i would be surprised if Pakistan comes even close to drawing a test in AUS.

The only place Pakistan can out do India is NZ.
Click to expand...

Pakistan generally does better than India in swinging conditions - esp those of NZ and Eng.

Off late, India has been outperforming Pakistan in Aus and SA


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
KB said:
Easy to overlook, that in terms of Test experience, none of the bowlers have actually played 20 Test matches.
Click to expand...

Yep, not much expression in this bowling line up and too high a expectations form fans here. Even with limited experience, Yasir has actually performed consistently for a period. Others have not done it so far.
 
Our bowlers cant keep it tight, cant bowl long spells efficiently, cant reverse swing the ball, cant set the batsman up.

The assessment is spot on.
 
I don't know what makes Pakistan fans think their bowlers are any special. Sure they can bowl couple of miles faster, but that's not going to stop them from getting smashed around. You need more than just pace inorder to stop today's batsmen and one of them is smart brains, which most Asian bowlers severely lack.
 
Balthazar said:
I don't know what makes Pakistan fans think their bowlers are any special. Sure they can bowl couple of miles faster, but that's not going to stop them from getting smashed around. You need more than just pace inorder to stop today's batsmen and one of them is smart brains, which most Asian bowlers severely lack.
Click to expand...

Faster? On average pace I think Aamir was the fastest at 136 kph in this test match.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Faster? On average pace I think Aamir was the fastest at 136 kph in this test match.
Click to expand...

Amir is no different to any of his compatriots. Terrible fitness and stamina ensures that he can't crank it up beyond the first six or so overs. And this in a country where temperatures are moderate, mind you. Let's see what happens to him when Pakistan play there staples in the UAE or tour Lanka - the kid is toast.
 
The "dangerous Pakistani bowling" tends to be built on past glories. The pace attack's the most worrying at the moment. We're supposedly the masters of reverse swing yet they didn't reverse it to the extent Eng did. Little in the way of conventional swing too.

That being said, not having a 5th bowler means they're out on their feet when they're asked to bowl their third, fourth and fifth spells and look worse than they actually are.
 
Last edited:
Toothless bowling barring Amir. We desperately need to induct Asif and younger bowlers. Tragedy that bowlers like Sohail Khan are making debut at the twilight of their careers and couldn't even last five days.
 
Varun said:
Amir is no different to any of his compatriots. Terrible fitness and stamina ensures that he can't crank it up beyond the first six or so overs. And this in a country where temperatures are moderate, mind you. Let's see what happens to him when Pakistan play there staples in the UAE or tour Lanka - the kid is toast.
Click to expand...

To be fair it is his first series in 6 years so you would expect that but considering the hype you would have thought that he would have atleast made an impact in this game . Yasir has been blunted too to a great extent.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Wahab is the only genuine quick in tests right now. Aamir needs to gain a yard if pace if he is to be compared to Starc/Rabada
Click to expand...

Amir will never be able to bowl 90 mph plus spells in a 4 man attack .
He has bowled 148 -151 quite a few times in LOIs since his return.
If he loses his pace and zip he would really struggle .
This isnt a great attack.by any means.
 
ethan hunt said:
Amir will never be able to bowl 90 mph plus spells in a 4 man attack .
He has bowled 148 -151 quite a few times in LOIs since his return.
If he loses his pace and zip he would really struggle .
This isnt a great attack.by any means.
Click to expand...

He does not have the stamina to bowl long spells at pace . Needs to build stamina . Anyway the point is when English bowling attack averages 27 and Pakistan's average 45, you know that there is a massive gulf in the bowling .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

jamie smith fan
Overrated Youngsters in Pakistan Cricket
2
Replies
87
Views
2K
Savak
Savak
T
Speed Watch: Pakistan vs New Zealand 3-ODI Match Series (2025)
Replies
24
Views
1K
BouncerGuy
BouncerGuy
Major
Why the recent line of Pakistan's captains don't pick playing XIs based on ground conditions?
Replies
4
Views
144
amvbfm
A
emranabbas
Is Pakistan's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign over on just the first day?
2
Replies
81
Views
3K
uppercut
U
Major
Why have Pakistan's fast-bowling resources depleted so suddenly?
Replies
72
Views
2K
shaz619
shaz619
Back
Top