Naseem Shah struggles with his bowling artillery in the whirlwind of T20I cricket

[FearlessRoar]

Let's find why Naseem Shah might not be the best fit for T20I cricket. He's faced New Zealand the most, playing 7 matches against them. His bowling strike rate against them sits at 33.2, with an economy rate of 8.43. Looking at his overall T20I career, he's managed just 19 wickets in 25 matches so far, sporting a bowling average of 37.63, which currently ranks as the 4th worst. His career strike rate of 28.4 is also currently 5th worst.

One major issue seems to be his uncertainty about where to bowl yorkers and length deliveries and we can understand the reason for it from here that he hasn't managed to dismiss any batter via LBW in his T20I career so far. Since his T20I debut, both his bowling average and economy rate have steadily increased instead of decreasing.

Now what I think he should do is that Naseem Shah should focus on enhancing his bowling variety, consistency in line and length and should not worry about the pace as he should master Yorker and slower balls, targeting the stumps for LBW opportunities, building mental resilience because after being hit for sixes or fours he should not lose his momentum because I have noticed him during 4th T20I against England in recent 4 T20I series against England when Phil Salt and Jos Buttler attacked him he lost his momentum and control over line and length instead of trying different variations.

 

[Rana]

The guy is part of that “aesthetic” cake cutting persona Pakistan has been building for ages. Pretty boy seamer.

“Hey look Indian fans! Our seamers are pretty, all the girlies love them! We have cute seamers!! We Pakistanis are beautiful!!”






That’s the reality of his selection.

 

[Barragan]

Somehow get rid him from the squad.

He is injury prone.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

He needs to get in the groove, needs more game time.

 

[Technics 1210]

Naseem Shah should develop his batting skills. He can be a handy bat and has better batting technique than the other bowlers.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Naseem was never a good T20 bowler, he should have kept only for the ODIs and Test cricket, its not neccessary that a bowler can be equally good in all 3 formats.

 

[Mamoon]

Pakistani fans should finally accept the reality that Naseem is a mediocre bowler.

Check his record in Australia, England and New Zealand as a Test bowler.

He is simply not the bowler his fans think he is and he never will be.

Shaheen is and always will be far better than him.

 

[Kianig89]

Naseem Shah struggles agreed, name a better option than him he deserves to be in the 15.

 

[mominsaigol]

Naseem Shah struggles agreed, name a better option than him he deserves to be in the 15.

Mohammad Ali

 

[BouncerGuy]

Naseem has been struggling for a while now. I don't think he is 100% fit and he is carrying some sort of injury. Shaheen, Haris, and Amir are there so he has his back covered for now. Might not play all the games of WC.

 

[FearlessRoar]

The guy is part of that “aesthetic” cake cutting persona Pakistan has been building for ages. Pretty boy seamer.

“Hey look Indian fans! Our seamers are pretty, all the girlies love them! We have cute seamers!! We Pakistanis are beautiful!!”






That’s the reality of his selection.

Haha and this is how we are making stars

 

[Rana]

That’s all it is

Eye candy to brag about

 

[FearlessRoar]

Anyone know about his recent pepsi ad? In which he says ' kya taste haiiii yaar'. He should also give us chance to say, 'kya bowler haiiii yaar'

 

[FearlessRoar]

Mohammad Ali

He deserved the place in world cup squad in place of Naseem Shah. He hasn't played T20i for Pakistan yet but his bowling strike in T20 is far better than Naseem Shah

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Maybe not suited to t20s yet but he has the talent, he swings the ball at 145, that's enough to let him play

 

[FearlessRoar]

Naseem Shah struggles agreed, name a better option than him he deserves to be in the 15.

Mohammad Imran, 4th highest wicket taker in national t20 cup 2023/24

 

[Rana]

“Khoobsurat fast bowler”

What in the world is that?

 

[FearlessRoar]

Pakistani fans should finally accept the reality that Naseem is a mediocre bowler.

Check his record in Australia, England and New Zealand as a Test bowler.

He is simply not the bowler his fans think he is and he never will be.

Shaheen is and always will be far better than him.

Of course, there is no comparison between Shaheen and Naseem in any aspect of bowling. Shaheen is far, far ahead in strike rate and economy rate.

 

[mominsaigol]

Can't believe I once called this man the future Glenn mcgrath, probs the worst ever opinion I've laid out here and I am ashamed.

 

[Rana]

Can't believe I once called this man the future Glenn mcgrath, probs the worst ever opinion I've laid out here and I am ashamed.

Lillee Shah bro

 

[Rana]

Lillee Shah
Rizwan Bradman
Shaheen Starc
Shadab Warne
Babar Border
Rauf Lee

We have it all covered. PCB champions edition shirts are available on their online merchandise store

 

[mominsaigol]

Lillee Shah bro

I mean my basis was that he has an aussie action and before injury he was bowling test match line and length like Glenn mcgrath did, but he doesn't have the variation of mcgrath, nor can he angle it in or away like mcgrath, so he's just bowling short and wide really, either that or he overpitches 24/7.

Right now he's spent lol

 

[mazkhan]

It's hard for players like wasim jnr , abbas , mir hamza, muhammad ali and dahani who continously get overlooked by this guy who remained 16 for 5+ yrs

 

[FearlessRoar]

Can't believe I once called this man the future Glenn mcgrath, probs the worst ever opinion I've laid out here and I am ashamed.

Don't worry bro. He is only not suitable for T20i cricket. In Tests he has better prospects

 

[mominsaigol]

Don't worry bro. He is only not suitable for T20 cricket. In Tests he has better prospects

Yeah but I've never really made any stupid comments besides this one. Calling naseem shah a future Glenn mcgrath is kinda far fetched either way lol

 

[pakistani pride]

No so sure, maybe rushed back for PSL.
Did he not do well in both T20 WCs?

 

[Mamoon]

No so sure, maybe rushed back for PSL.
Did he not do well in both T20 WCs?

Taking 3 wickets in the entire 2022 World Cup doesn’t constitute as doing well.

 

[Master Blaster]

He has the talent and age on his side. Don't forget that he's the youngest fast bowler in the world.

 

[mon858]

Falls in the category of selecting and persisting with players based on "potential" , "reputation", "one off performances against minnows of once in long time against big team", "future", "bring back from injury right away even if not in full rhythm ".

Should have picked Muhammad Ali and given him full nz series at least. Or just pick Salman Agha there was no need for 5 pure pacers for carrebean world cup. Or consider Aamir Jamal at least he is an all rounder. Playing 4 pacers makes a long tail in a fragile middle order.

 

[pakistani pride]

Taking 3 wickets in the entire 2022 World Cup doesn’t constitute as doing well.

Eco rate in both WCs?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Pakistani fans should finally accept the reality that Naseem is a mediocre bowler.

Check his record in Australia, England and New Zealand as a Test bowler.

He is simply not the bowler his fans think he is and he never will be.

Shaheen is and always will be far better than him.

Seems a bit fragile too. Can't seem to play a half dozen matches without getting injured

 

[Mamoon]

Eco rate in both WCs?

A good economy rate means nothing for a strike bowler if you are not taking wickets.

It means you are easy to see off and then the batsmen can exploit the other bowlers.

Wickets create pressure. Shaheen takes wickets but Naseem doesn’t.

 

[pakistani pride]

A good economy rate means nothing for a strike bowler if you are not taking wickets.

It means you are easy to see off and then the batsmen can exploit the other bowlers.

Wickets create pressure. Shaheen takes wickets but Naseem doesn’t.

So they work together?
Naseem kept it tight so SSA afridi could attack.

Naseem in the last 2 WCs gave Pak serious control with the new ball and was hard to score off.

Currently seems he is not fit.

 

[shaz619]

Seems a bit fragile too. Can't seem to play a half dozen matches without getting injured

Possibly, but then look at how you handled Bumrah and how England handle both Jofra and Mark Wood, then look how the elite / world famous medical panel in the PCB have dealt with Shaheen. The same team is responsible for Naseem, nothing to worry about.

 

[Mamoon]

So they work together?
Naseem kept it tight so SSA afridi could attack.

Naseem in the last 2 WCs gave Pak serious control with the new ball and was hard to score off.

Currently seems he is not fit.

Naseem is average. Shaheen is much better.

Shaheen doesn’t need Naseem.

 

[pakistani pride]

Naseem is average. Shaheen is much better.

Shaheen doesn’t need Naseem.

We know you do not rate him. I still think he can play a role in T20 (as he has proven to be very reliable/type of bowler who is hard to hit). You need a bowler who controls it upfront and keeps it tight to complement SSA.

But again he seems to rushed back just to play PSL and is clearly not fully fit.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He's not as bad as everyone is calling him to be. He's coming after a long lay off. PSL is not international cricket. and he has been short of game time and full fitness maybe. He'll regain his form if he keeps his head together. May never be a gun t20 bowler but he's fine. If he's able to keep his economy rate <7.5, would be really good.
Azhar isn't really good enough to prepare bowlers. He'll become better once he spends more sessions with Gillespie.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

We know you do not rate him. I still think he can play a role in T20 (as he has proven to be very reliable/type of bowler who is hard to hit). You need a bowler who controls it upfront and keeps it tight to complement SSA.

But again he seems to rushed back just to play PSL and is clearly not fully fit.

His economy may be good against lower ranked teams
.

Against Top 8 sides in T20Is , he has economy of 8.70 and an average of 46.3
Poor record against Ireland also

His record is good against Bangladesh , Afghanistan , Netherlands, Hong Kong.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Possibly, but then look at how you handled Bumrah and how England handle both Jofra and Mark Wood, then look how the elite / world famous medical panel in the PCB have dealt with Shaheen. The same team is responsible for Naseem, nothing to worry about.

True. There's a big difference there as well. Also he is just around 24 now. That's the age when the bones mature and it was possibly because of his age that he got injured so much.

 

[TheSultan]

Pakistani bowlers in general should please get over their obsession with slower balls.

Why the hell would you bowl so many slower balls when you can bowl 140+ and especially the first ball of overs. Yes if course you need variety - but we really do overdo them. And it’s killing them in T20. Batsmen can pick them up a lot easier these days and they are waiting for it.

Naseem should concentrate on pace.

 

[pakistani pride]

His economy may be good against lower ranked teams
.

Against Top 8 sides in T20Is , he has economy of 8.70 and an average of 46.3
Poor record against Ireland also

His record is good against Bangladesh , Afghanistan , Netherlands, Hong Kong.

I base my assumptions on what I saw of him in 2 WCs. He seems very calm and not under pressure. If fully fit I would always open the bowling with him in a WC.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I base my assumptions on what I saw of him in 2 WCs. He seems very calm and not under pressure. If fully fit I would always open the bowling with him in a WC.

Who will you drop from the attack to accomodate Naseem?

 

[TheSultan]

Naseem is average. Shaheen is much better.

Shaheen doesn’t need Naseem.

Shaheen is overrated too - he’s a trundler now. This ain’t 2021

 

[pakistani pride]

Who will you drop from the attack to accomodate Naseem?

currently he is far from fit.
Should not be playing.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Naseem is yet to find his feet in t20s as he has found in other 2 formats, at this point, Shaheen, Amir & Haris seem to have a slight edge over Naseem in getting wickets unless the wickets are too conducive for swing.

 

[Savak]

Pakistani bowlers in general should please get over their obsession with slower balls.

Why the hell would you bowl so many slower balls when you can bowl 140+ and especially the first ball of overs. Yes if course you need variety - but we really do overdo them. And it’s killing them in T20. Batsmen can pick them up a lot easier these days and they are waiting for it.

Naseem should concentrate on pace.

Slower deliveries are only effective on slow pitches or at the death. Pakistani bowlers bowl it every over when the ball is fresh, coming on to the bat

 

[ahmadharis1]

He's a horrendous T20 bowler who's only on the team because of pAcE is PaCeee yaaAArrrr

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Don't know what has just happened to him. Was looking solid in PSL and now this.

 

[TeymurBlake]

He's a young bowler with promise. However with the injuries he's suffered as well as poor form he's in a difficult situation.

However he still is promising and still has time on his side. But he shouldn't be selected ahead of Abbas Afridi.

 

[jnaveen1980]

He is shortish. His natural length is always going to be shortish. Batsmen can sit deep in the crease and play him.

 

[mazkhan]

Once he loses his 85-90mph pace its over

Just like what happened to hasan ali lost that 90mph pace and that pacey late indipper

They will get carted more often than nothing

Only could for 2nd rate t20 leagues.

 

[Kroll]

Don't know what has just happened to him. Was looking solid in PSL and now this.

Doesn't look fit, same old story of our best or most promising bowlers over bowled to death.

 

[UzmanBeast]

The issue with Naseem is that he is an economical bowler, not a wicket taker.

He is certainly unlucky at times to not take the outside edge, but given the fact that he generally opts for back of a length, he may not be too useful on tracks where bowlers targeting the stumps have a better chance.

His natural outswing is fine when bowling to left handers, but he needs more deliveries challenging the pads and stumps for right handed batters.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Naseem looks unfit TBH. That injury is still hurting him I guess. PCB should use him carefully and not play him in every useless game. No need to play him against USA or Canada. Abbas should play ahead of him there.

 

[ahmadharis1]

If Abbas Afridi was averaging 38 in T20Is after 24 matches, people would be calling for his head. But since it's golden boy Naseem it's totally fine.

He's a young, raw, bowler definitely with some potential and good moments but I don't see the hype

 

[Spitfire]

Nasim improved the most under Shaun Tait, his form has been in a freefall since Shaun left PCB.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Naseem is going to be one of the best fast-bowlers in the world years from now. The same people who are dolling out the same bunch of nonsense because he is out of form will have to eat their words or act like they never said what they said. It's easy to kick a man when he's down. And fair-weather Pakistani fans outdo everyone else when it comes to self-loathing and bringing down their own players.

Naseem still has alot to learn. But he has the temperament and the mental toughness to come back from setbacks. He will achieve great things for Pakistan.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Less than one year ago, when he got injured people were losing it because he was our best bowler and he was going to miss the World Cup. Suddenly, he's awful because he hasn't performed in a few meaningless bilateral T20s? Some of you need to seriously reevaluate the way you analyze cricket.

And I'm not talking about the people who are bringing up justified arguments about his lack of form in T20Is.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Yeah but I've never really made any stupid comments besides this one. Calling naseem shah a future Glenn mcgrath is kinda far fetched either way lol

Forget Naseem.

No bowler in world cricket can eclipse Mcgrath.

He was one of a kind bowler.

Generational probably.

He is underrated on this forum because he couldnt bowl fast.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Nasim improved the most under Shaun Tait, his form has been in a freefall since Shaun left PCB.

Naseem was never a good T20 bowler, its better to keep him in ODIs and Test cricket only.

 

[mominsaigol]

Forget Naseem.

No bowler in world cricket can eclipse Mcgrath.

He was one of a kind bowler.

Generational probably.

He is underrated on this forum because he couldnt bowl fast.

Dennis Lillie, Joel Garner, curtly Ambrose, malcolm Marshall, Micheal Holding and Richard Hadley are superior.

I've seen them bowl and Glenn mcgrath isn't on their level,

He's superior to Alan Donald, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Dale steyn, Courtney Walsh, Imran Khan, Shawn Pollock, James Anderson and various other ATG's though.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

to make a lineup against India if i have to choose between Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah so i will definitely pick naseem because he add values with his batting abilities and more importantly he doesnt leak runs like haris does.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

to make a lineup against India if i have to choose between Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah so i will definitely pick naseem because he add values with his batting abilities and more importantly he doesnt leak runs like haris does.

Naseem is a better and more complete bowler. But Haris Rauf is in-form. And with his pace and death-bowling ability he adds something different to the attack as compared to Amir and Shaheen.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Naseem's form is very important for Pakistan. He might take many wickets but his ability to stop runs can come handy but his recent form is not good.

I hope he comes good because if he is not 10/10 then I will certainly prefer abbas over him.

 

[RidiculousMan]

There's something with his line and length. Batters play a lot of play and miss. I think he needs to maybe be more straight in his line.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Naseem may have a lot of talent and everything. But he is legitimately around 24 now. It's now or never if there's any chance of him becoming an elite fast bowler

 

[Mamoon]

If Abbas Afridi was averaging 38 in T20Is after 24 matches, people would be calling for his head. But since it's golden boy Naseem it's totally fine.

He's a young, raw, bowler definitely with some potential and good moments but I don't see the hype

Exactly and in addition to averaging 38 in T20Is, he averages 34 in Test cricket.

Naseem is all hype and no show. All his hype and fandom is fueled by his fake age. He made the headlines in 2019 when PCB branded him as a “16 year old” pacer who was ready for Test cricket but in reality, he was already 19-20 at that point.

PCB’s lie even made the headlines of sports papers in Australia and UK who were very excited to see a 16 year old fast bowler playing Test cricket and he is still riding on that hype even though his performances have been nill.

In reality, he is the same age as Shaheen and Shaheen has done far more than him and is a much more complete bowler.

Naseem is one of those players who doesn’t need to perform to be highly rated because of the perception that he carries. Shadab was the same for years until he sunk too low.

Naseem will suffer the same fate in a couple of years. People who are saying he will be a world class bowlers for years to come have been saying the same for 4 years now. Naseem clearly doesn’t have what it takes.

 

[mominsaigol]

Exactly and in addition to averaging 38 in T20Is, he averages 34 in Test cricket.

Naseem is all hype and no show. All his hype and fandom is fueled by his fake age. He made the headlines in 2019 when PCB branded him as a “16 year old” pacer who was ready for Test cricket but in reality, he was already 19-20 at that point.

PCB’s lie even made the headlines of sports papers in Australia and UK who were very excited to see a 16 year old fast bowler playing Test cricket and he is still riding on that hype even though his performances have been nill.

In reality, he is the same age as Shaheen and Shaheen has done far more than him and is a much more complete bowler.

Naseem is one of those players who doesn’t need to perform to be highly rated because of the perception that he carries. Shadab was the same for years until he sunk too low.

Naseem will suffer the same fate in a couple of years. People who are saying he will be a world class bowlers for years to come have been saying the same for 4 years now. Naseem clearly doesn’t have what it takes.

He is not the same age as shaheen. He's clearly younger. But both have age fudged

 

[Kianig89]

Why wasn't he trusted with super over responsibility

 

[jnaveen1980]

Why wasn't he trusted with super over responsibility

Naseem shah's bowling may be in the arc of Aaron james where as Amir can slant it across. If he had bowled proper 6 balls Pakistan would have won.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

He has made great progress in a matter of week. Amazing

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Naseem is a better and more complete bowler. But Haris Rauf is in-form. And with his pace and death-bowling ability he adds something different to the attack as compared to Amir and Shaheen.

but haris rauf's economy bother me the most because in T20 cricket if u take 3 wickets but still leaks more than 40 runs so u r not good enough to play this game.

 

[cricketmerijaan]

Naseem is what India had with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. An average bowler who does well in the right conditions

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

but haris rauf's economy bother me the most because in T20 cricket if u take 3 wickets but still leaks more than 40 runs so u r not good enough to play this game.

I know he cost us the match against USA but Rauf's economy at the death is generally good. Rauf's economy during the rest of the innings is a problem but he does take wickets and I feel it could be controlled if Babar was a bit smarter with his field settings. Far too often during the start of his spell you see the ball flying to third man or fine leg but there is no fielder there. Other times first slip is missing. If you have a bowler bowling aggressive lines you need to set aggressive fields too.

 

[mominsaigol]

I know he cost us the match against USA but Rauf's economy at the death is generally good. Rauf's economy during the rest of the innings is a problem but he does take wickets and I feel it could be controlled if Babar was a bit smarter with his field settings. Far too often during the start of his spell you see the ball flying to third man or fine leg but there is no fielder there. Other times first slip is missing. If you have a bowler bowling aggressive lines you need to set aggressive fields too.

Rauf gelled well when other bowlers did something.

Rauf has always been a guy who is expensive but takes wickets.

However he worked because shaheen and naseem would take wickets. But now with shaheen being a full tosser and naseem being a condition based specialist Rauf vets exposed when he has to take the brunt

 

[BouncerGuy]

If you can take wickets at the right time but in the process, you go for some runs, you would not say that the bowler has failed. taking a wicket at the right time is the key. The economy is also important but a batter may see out dangerous bowlers so he can attack some other bowler so the economy might not come in handy then.

Naseem is a bit unlucky in getting wickets but he is a clever bowler overall.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Rauf gelled well when other bowlers did something.

Rauf has always been a guy who is expensive but takes wickets.

However he worked because shaheen and naseem would take wickets. But now with shaheen being a full tosser and naseem being a condition based specialist Rauf vets exposed when he has to take the brunt

That's a good point. When you think about when everything went downhill for Pakistan, which was pretty much the 2023 Asia Cup, the two major things that stand-out are Naseem's injury and Shaheen's dip in form. A bit of it may have something to do with Shaheen not getting the same support with the new ball, which caused him to try new things but fact is he did lose form. Meanwhile you had Haris bowling with the new ball, which was an awful idea. That overexposed him and then we all saw what happened to him at the World Cup. Haris has a very specific role as an enforcer. He can be effective but needs to be used right.

When I think back to that rained out India Asia Cup match, that's the last time when these three were bowling perfectly together. Prior to that Rauf picked up 5-18 against Afghanistan in an ODI where he was absolutely unplayable.

 

[mominsaigol]

That's a good point. When you think about when everything went downhill for Pakistan, which was pretty much the 2023 Asia Cup, the two major things that stand-out are Naseem's injury and Shaheen's dip in form. A bit of it may have something to do with Shaheen not getting the same support with the new ball, which caused him to try new things but fact is he did lose form. Meanwhile you had Haris bowling with the new ball, which was an awful idea. That overexposed him and then we all saw what happened to him at the World Cup. Haris has a very specific role as an enforcer. He can be effective but needs to be used right.

When I think back to that rained out India Asia Cup match, that's the last time when these three were bowling perfectly together. Prior to that Rauf picked up 5-18 against Afghanistan in an ODI where he was absolutely unplayable.

Tbf the Afghanistan game of his is an outlier but he's good when it comes to picking wickets and wickets win games. But shaheen and anseem being economical allowed Rauf to function as his Insane wicket taking spree was amazing.

Now he's useless unless the others get their groove.

 

[kach]

IMO Pakistan has four good bowlers now Naseem being either number 1 or 2, but are not consistent within matches and across matches. As an Indian, I can tell you that apart from Bumrah and Shami who are a class apart and better than than the current crop of Pakistani pacers, the rest are rubbish. I would replace Siraj any day with Naseem and Arshdeep any day with Shaheen.
Amir is a backup and has always performed against us(maybe because we still haven't figured out how to play left arm swing bowling).
Naseem can be molded into a consistent Shami kinda bowler if he keeps up his fitness and learns to adapt to conditions.

 

[JaDed]

IMO Pakistan has four good bowlers now Naseem being either number 1 or 2, but are not consistent within matches and across matches. As an Indian, I can tell you that apart from Bumrah and Shami who are a class apart and better than than the current crop of Pakistani pacers, the rest are rubbish. I would replace Siraj any day with Naseem and Arshdeep any day with Shaheen.
Amir is a backup and has always performed against us(maybe because we still haven't figured out how to play left arm swing bowling).
Naseem can be molded into a consistent Shami kinda bowler if he keeps up his fitness and learns to adapt to conditions.

Arshdeep is not great on his own, but he bowls to plan like Indian bowlers.

Bumrah and Shami have the xfactor but sometimes need bowlers to just follow the damn plan.

Also personality wise I wouldn’t take Shaheen for Indian team, seems like a Pandya 2.0