Pakistan's bowling attack for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia

[MenInG]

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene:

“In Australian conditions, those guys will be a handful. Especially for quite a few opening batsmen, it will be a nightmare if Shaheen and Naseem bowl in tandem from both end"

"I’ve been following Naseem for a while now. Obviously, they have used him a lot in red-ball cricket, in Test match cricket because of his pace"

"They did not back him too much with the accuracy with the white-ball format but lately, with a lot of cricket being played, he has come of age and the control that he showed, especially with the new ball, picking up wickets … that’s the key element,"

"With the two youngsters, they’ve got a really, really good pace unit. And Naseem has been brilliant, I was really impressed by the way he went about things. The skills, especially bringing the ball back into the right-handers, the way he swung the ball with that kind of pace.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...chances-in-t20-world-cup-101663680136862.html

 

[Kianig89]

Let the hype machine blow their real test will be of they outperform the Australian pacers

 

[Extra_Cover]

Pakistan off late has not had a problem with opening bowling. The main issue for Pakistan has been bowling in last 5/6 overs when they usually lose the plot. I would recommend having 2 overs of spin in last 6 as a mixup to pace only. Also we need a more consistent death bowler if we are to go further in the upcoming T20 world cup.

 

[Energy]

Always a pleasure reading cricketing insights from the greats of the game. He seems to have really followed Naseem's career and the analysis around his swing.

 

[Markhor]

Mohammad Hasnain averages 40 at 9.18 RPO when you remove Zimbabwe from his T20I stats.

Does Mohammad Wasim actually look the numbers when selecting players or are they for show ?

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Mohammad Hasnain averages 40 at 9.18 RPO when you remove Zimbabwe from his T20I stats.

Does Mohammad Wasim actually look the numbers when selecting players or are they for show ?

He doesn’t , if he is looking at the numbers then AA, Khusdil, Ifthikar don’t get a free ride

 

[TeymurBlake]

Mohammad Hasnain averages 40 at 9.18 RPO when you remove Zimbabwe from his T20I stats.

Does Mohammad Wasim actually look the numbers when selecting players or are they for show ?

This obsession with pace is going haywire considering how inconsistent they are. Even Shaheen Shah Afridi returning into the side won't solve anything.

 

[Bilal7]

Shaheen
Rauf
Naseem
Hasnain
Wasim/Dahani

This will be the best pace attack at the World Cup.

Mohammad Hasnain averages 40 at 9.18 RPO when you remove Zimbabwe from his T20I stats.

Does Mohammad Wasim actually look the numbers when selecting players or are they for show ?

He is just starting out; those stats do not matter when he is so new and a benchwarmer. It does however, put fear in the opposition's hearts when they hear that a guy who bowls at 150 kph is a sub.

 

[Markhor]

Shaheen
Rauf
Naseem
Hasnain
Wasim/Dahani

This will be the best pace attack at the World Cup.



He is just starting out; those stats do not matter when he is so new and a benchwarmer. It does however, put fear in the opposition's hearts when they hear that a guy who bowls at 150 kph is a sub.

He made his international debut in 2019 so he's not a newcomer.

Pace is not everything, he's too inconsistent with his lines and lengths, and not reliable enough for the death.

 

[bujhee kom]

They are all real quick. Pk has good bowling. Biggest issue is batting from #3 onwards.

 

[Grunge101]

Mohammad Hasnain averages 40 at 9.18 RPO when you remove Zimbabwe from his T20I stats.

Does Mohammad Wasim actually look the numbers when selecting players or are they for show ?

With Husnain, its more about the potential rather than present record. I think he's come back a better bowler since his action change. He's obviously not a finished product yet but i think the ingredients are there. That said, i wouldnt have an objection if he doesnt make the final 11 in the WC as the accuracy imply isnt there yet.

His Economy rate was 8.9 in the Asia cup with 4 wickets including 2/21 against Srilanka. It shouldve been 8 rpo with 6 wickets without the 2 dropped catches. Its nothing stellar but it does show he is getting better.

 

[shamaan]

Mohammad Hasnain averages 40 at 9.18 RPO when you remove Zimbabwe from his T20I stats.

Does Mohammad Wasim actually look the numbers when selecting players or are they for show ?

I know who I would pick.

 

[shamaan]

With Husnain, its more about the potential rather than present record. I think he's come back a better bowler since his action change. He's obviously not a finished product yet but i think the ingredients are there. That said, i wouldnt have an objection if he doesnt make the final 11 in the WC as the accuracy imply isnt there yet.

His Economy rate was 8.9 in the Asia cup with 4 wickets including 2/21 against Srilanka. It shouldve been 8 rpo with 6 wickets without the 2 dropped catches. Its nothing stellar but it does show he is getting better.

Dahani has better control than Hasnain pluss he's a better fielder.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistan pace attack should be
Shaheen
Naseem
Rauf

If one of these get injured then I would pick the following players in this order.
Wasim Jnr
Dahani
Hasnain.

 

[Grunge101]

Dahani has better control than Hasnain pluss he's a better fielder.

Dahani is also much more predictable with his length and doesn't seem to have a reliable yorker or slower ball. Batsmen will just wait on their backfoots on Australian pitches and pull everything in sight.
Husnain has less control but he has a 150 km/hr Yorker that can get the best of them out when he gets it right.

Don't know where you get that better fielder thing. Husnains a pretty decent fielder,

 

[shamaan]

Dahani is also much more predictable with his length and doesn't seem to have a reliable yorker or slower ball. Batsmen will just wait on their backfoots on Australian pitches and pull everything in sight.
Husnain has less control but he has a 150 km/hr Yorker that can get the best of them out when he gets it right.

Don't know where you get that better fielder thing. Husnains a pretty decent fielder,

I rather have some predictable in length than some who sprays it and doesn't know how to take wickets.

I have seen Hasnain field and he isn't that great

 

[AZulfi]

Pace attack won't come into the equation unless we can consistently score 180 plus. This is what you will need on Australian pitches in order to be competitive. Need to sort out our weak link first, the middle-order.

 

[Marooned]

Dahani is also much more predictable with his length and doesn't seem to have a reliable yorker or slower ball. Batsmen will just wait on their backfoots on Australian pitches and pull everything in sight.
Husnain has less control but he has a 150 km/hr Yorker that can get the best of them out when he gets it right.

Don't know where you get that better fielder thing. Husnains a pretty decent fielder,

Dahani has a faaaar better yorker than whatever Hasnain has ever shown.

Dahani hasn't looked at his best recently but he has literally hit yorkers for fun in the past. Almost at will

For yorkers, see his t20 game vs WI where he was the best bowler by a mile (Hasnain was playing too) or a few games with Multan in 2021 PSL where he hit yorkers for fun at death.

Hasnain has never performed at Dahani's level in domestics and both the games the 2 have played together, Dahani came out as a better bowler.

 

[Usman Chadda]

This obsession with pace is going haywire considering how inconsistent they are. Even Shaheen Shah Afridi returning into the side won't solve anything.

Your pace attack just carried your entire team in the Asia Cup

England are expected to tonk any kind of bowling on good tracks.

 

[Rana]

Dahani is the Forest Gump of Pakistan.

He is unstoppable if he is switched on and focused

 

[Grunge101]

Dahani has a faaaar better yorker than whatever Hasnain has ever shown.

Dahani hasn't looked at his best recently but he has literally hit yorkers for fun in the past. Almost at will

For yorkers, see his t20 game vs WI where he was the best bowler by a mile (Hasnain was playing too) or a few games with Multan in 2021 PSL where he hit yorkers for fun at death.

Hasnain has never performed at Dahani's level in domestics and both the games the 2 have played together, Dahani came out as a better bowler.

I would disagree with that assessment..I've seen both of them bowl in the PSL plus international cricket and Husnain has shown to have a far more reliable yorker than Dahani. It's his effort ball, usually around 150 km/hr and it'll get the best of them in trouble once he gets more accuracy with it.

I like Dahani, he looks like a decent prospect but he has too few international outing till now to warrant a place in the WC squad. Should he have played more ?. Probably yes, but at this moment you don't have time to test someone completely unknown at this level.

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Dahani has a faaaar better yorker than whatever Hasnain has ever shown.

Dahani hasn't looked at his best recently but he has literally hit yorkers for fun in the past. Almost at will

For yorkers, see his t20 game vs WI where he was the best bowler by a mile (Hasnain was playing too) or a few games with Multan in 2021 PSL where he hit yorkers for fun at death.

Hasnain has never performed at Dahani's level in domestics and both the games the 2 have played together, Dahani came out as a better bowler.

Hasnain can be very useful on those bigger Australian grounds. Currently his top edges go for 6. In Australia those become boundary catches.

Also, whilst Dahani bowled well yesterday, Hasnain started well in his first two overs, with his runs conceded were more pace related than because of the batsmen.

 

[Ashmal]

Bowling at the death needs some improvement.

 

[Marooned]

Hasnain can be very useful on those bigger Australian grounds. Currently his top edges go for 6. In Australia those become boundary catches.

Also, whilst Dahani bowled well yesterday, Hasnain started well in his first two overs, with his runs conceded were more pace related than because of the batsmen.

I will make this argument for Dahani instead.

Top edge and caught is literally Dahani's bread and butter. Much more so than it is for Hasnain.

To me, Dahani is the one most suited for Australian conditions not Hasnain.

 

[Marooned]

I would disagree with that assessment..I've seen both of them bowl in the PSL plus international cricket and Husnain has shown to have a far more reliable yorker than Dahani. It's his effort ball, usually around 150 km/hr and it'll get the best of them in trouble once he gets more accuracy with it.

I like Dahani, he looks like a decent prospect but he has too few international outing till now to warrant a place in the WC squad. Should he have played more ?. Probably yes, but at this moment you don't have time to test someone completely unknown at this level.

Which PSL? Did you see him in 2021 PSL? Because he really nailed his Yorkers that season. I haven't seen Hasnain come close.
There is also that T20 game vs West Indies which I mentioned in which Hasnain too played. The gulf was pretty visible that game.

So Far Hasnain and Dahani have played only 2 games TOGETHER.

1. Vs West Indies:
Dahani: 1-23
Hasnain: 0-49

2. Vs England
Dahani: 2-37
Hasnain: 0-51

Dahani may have played less international cricket than Hasnain but to my eye, he is still more polished than Hasnain.

Anyway, I like them both and both should be in the squad. Kick out Qadir. He is an injury replacement and belongs in reserves.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

I really dont understand why we cannot get a decent bowling coach to fix these "wild and right arm anywhere" bowling issues for Hussnain... he is so much pleasing on the eye, has got serious heat in him, he is young, calm as a person, decent head on shoulder... just needs to have a decent coach and he can be lethal

problem is everyone around , apart from Rauf maybe, is in tht power-age-range of 20 to 24.... its such a high from the useless era of 2010-2018 when we had wahab ( faceplam) lol

Shaheen
Rauf
Naseem

Wasim Jnr
Dahani
Hussnain

this looks to be the picking order

 

[Mamoon]

The romanticism over Pakistan’s fast bowling makes me laugh.

The likes of Rauf, Naseem, Hasnain, Dahani etc. are nothing bowlers. They have fake aggression and as soon as a batsman takes them on, they turn into kittens. Also, they are bottlers who lose it under pressure.

These bowlers have conceded too many 170+ totals in the last few games to be lauded for their skill.

Pakistan’s only hope is Shaheen but as we have seen with him in the past, he takes his sweet time to get back in rhythm and usually doesn’t hit the ground running after an injury lay-off.

Pakistan should not expect him to reproduce the impact of the previous World T20 in the upcoming edition.

Pakistan is in a for a disappointing tournament. The bowling is overrated, the middle and lower-order is associate level and the only formula of winning is to have Babar and Rizwan play out 20 overs which will not happen every time.

Pakistan should thank its lucky stars if they make it to the knockouts. It is a rubbish team.

 

[MenInG]

Haris Rauf has grown in stature and is the rightful member of the Pak pace bowlers group and should do well in the WT20

 

[asadee]

They will do well in Australia unlike a frustrated self proclaimed pundit’s claims

 

[ZafarKhan2022]

I would like to see Zaman Khan incorporated into the national side's pace battery. On a side note, does anyone have any information on the T20 spin options besides Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Usman Qadir, and Mohammad Nawaz?

 

[TeymurBlake]

The BBL was brilliant for him and showed the scope of his ability.

He since has improved massively as a bowler and fielding.

Great example for his teammates and Pakistani players.

 

[Saj]

I have faith in a bowling attack of Shaheen, Naseem, Haris Rauf, Shadab, Nawaz for the T20 World Cup.

Ifthi can chip in with a few overs here and there if needed too as the 6th bowler.

The bigger problem is the batting.

 

[moghul]

Fast bowlers for Australia

1-Shaheen 2- Naseem, 3-Rauf 4-Husnain and 5-Waseem jr.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Shaheen Naseem Rauf Wasim Shadab and Nawaz

 

[Bilal7]

The romanticism over Pakistan’s fast bowling makes me laugh.

The likes of Rauf, Naseem, Hasnain, Dahani etc. are nothing bowlers. They have fake aggression and as soon as a batsman takes them on, they turn into kittens. Also, they are bottlers who lose it under pressure.

These bowlers have conceded too many 170+ totals in the last few games to be lauded for their skill.

Pakistan’s only hope is Shaheen but as we have seen with him in the past, he takes his sweet time to get back in rhythm and usually doesn’t hit the ground running after an injury lay-off.

Pakistan should not expect him to reproduce the impact of the previous World T20 in the upcoming edition.

Pakistan is in a for a disappointing tournament. The bowling is overrated, the middle and lower-order is associate level and the only formula of winning is to have Babar and Rizwan play out 20 overs which will not happen every time.

Pakistan should thank its lucky stars if they make it to the knockouts. It is a rubbish team.

Yeah, Rauf definitely showed that he's a kitten under pressure in the last game, eh?

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

The Asia cup proved one thing real +ve for pak. All your pacemen can hit 6's inthe final overs

 

[sweep_shot]

Fast bowlers for Australia

1-Shaheen 2- Naseem, 3-Rauf 4-Husnain and 5-Waseem jr.

Looks about right.

Shaheen, Naseem, and Rauf. Same as it was in Asia Cup.

 

[MenInG]

Waqar praising the Pakistan bowling attack saying its one of the best going into the World Cup

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Probably the best in the World, hard to leave out anyone of them.

Pakistan needs to play 4 pacers on Australian pitches, Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf and Wasim.

Mohammed Rizwan (Wk)
Babar Azam
Shan Masood
Fakhar Zaman
Shadab Khan
Ithikhar Ahmed
Asif Ali
Mohammed Wasim
Shaheen Afridi
Haris Rauf
Naseem Shah

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Very impressive effort from the Pakistani bowlers today. Bowled with discipline and with a plan. No wides, not a single no-ball, just that one bad over <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NZvsPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NZvsPAK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1578654971712573440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Rana]

ICC T20I World Cup 2022: How good is Pakistan’s bowling attack?

I personally recon it’s pretty good. We have mostly all bases covered. It’s an attack worthy for T20i glory

Seamer 1. Harris Rauf: a certified T20 specialist/world class fast bowler. He is a game changer, wicket taker and keeps the batsmen guessing. His reputation has enhanced leaps and bounds and batsmen do not take him lightly anymore.

Seamer 2. Shaheen Afridi: extremely dangerous new ball bowler. His initial burst can win the match for his side. 3 wickets in the powerplay usually results in a team victory. Shaheen is more than capable of knocking two-three in his first 3 overs of a spell. I have put him down as the second important seamer because we cannot be sure if he will be in full peak condition coming back after a long lay off.

Seamer 3. Muhammad Wasim JR: I think he is the safest option for the 3rd seamer role as of now. He can bowl in the powerplay and keep a good stump to stump line at 140+. He tends to get a bit greedy and drifts leg stumpish, but he has also impressed recently with his control over Yorkers at the death.

Spinner 1. Shadab Khan: like Rauf, he has enhanced his reputation as a reputable leg spinner. Treated with a lot more caution now and isn’t afraid of bowling to left handers. Uses his googly well against the left handers and his control has improved.

Spinner 2. Mohammad Nawaz: He is a big wicket taker. He has picked the wickets of Kohli, Sharma, Conway, Williamson and some good English batsmen in recent history. That is some big scalps and he is usually bowling with good control outside of the powerplay. He shouldn’t really bowl to left handers and Iftikhar can share the work load with him if needed.


Reserve/extra seamer or spinner playing XI according to requirements

Seamer 4. Naseem Shah: he trumps it for me over Dahani. Swing is his biggest weapon and is a dangerous first spell bowler like Shaheen. Needs to improve on his death bowling as he is prone to bowl brainless slot balls at the back end

Spinner 3. Iftikhar Ahmed: He’s hardly failed to impress whenever he is called upon. Knows how to bowl to big hitting left handed middle order players. This is important considering India and South Africa both have important, dangerous left handed batsmen in the middle, lower middle order. Iftikhar IMO is the most reliable right hand off spinner option in all of Pakistan (even if he is seen as a part timer)

I think we have a bowling attack worthy to be champions or at least runners up. Hopefully the batting comes through too. Overall I would rate them alongside some of our best ever T20i attacks in World Cup history. (2 world class seamers and 2 high quality spin all rounders)

 

[ChTab]

Indeed, we have a decent attack but the in experience of bowling in Aus conditions will be the issue. Apart from Rauf no one is regular in Big Bash.

1. Rauf will have very good tournament because of his experience in Australia.
2.Shaheen might have an underwhelming tournament which is understandable because of his injury along with inexperience in Aus conditions.
3. Naseem will most likely be spanked in Aus conditions especially if there's no swing.

 

[shamaan]

I think they will go with Shaheen,Rauf and Naseem.
Wasim Jnr should come into the xi if one of them gets injured.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistan has a strong bowling attack maybe the best bowling attack in the tournament.

 

[Mesozoic]

Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan are going to be key. I don't think Shaheen is going to leave a big mark on this world cup even if he's fit and ready.

All in all id say the third most dependable bowling attack behind Australia and South Africa. Also likely to have multiple bad days too..

 

[Mamoon]

Laughably overrated bowling attack that crumbles under pressure.

Shaheen: world class for his first two overs, nothing special at the death.

Rauf: he is turning into Sohail Tanvir. All he does is bowl cutters to proper batsmen because he doesn’t back himself to dominate them with pace.

His success hinges on the fact that batsmen have a hard time accepting the fact that he doesn’t have the courage to bowl quick to them.

They always pull the trigger early against him, expecting a 150 kph that he reserves for tailenders only.

Naseem: mediocre bowler who is too short to be successful in the long-term. His Test career has been a disaster especially away from home (in Australia, England and New Zealand) and in white ball cricket he looks okay when the new ball swings but apart from that he is always on the cusp of getting smashed.

He is going to fizzle out like Hassan who had a far better start to his career and enjoyed much higher highs but his lack of height caught up with him.

Hasnain: Sami 2.0. A mental midget. Like Naseem, he looks good only if the ball swings early and he completely loses his composure when the batsmen target him.

Dahani: mediocre bowler who is not 25% as good as he thinks he is. He is a camera merchant with over the top antics and celebrations, and yet another bowler who completely bottles it under pressure.

Wasim junior: a middling bowler, very average in all departments.

Shadab and Nawaz: two average spinners who will do the bare minimum 9/10 times. None of them evoke any fear in the opposition camp or have any sort of aura that the likes of Rashid Khan have.

No opposition looks at Pakistan bowling and views them as a big challenge. At their best they would give you a 4-0-25-1 and at their worst they would give you 4-0-40-0.

Neither of them are game changing, game defining bowlers. Pakistani fans are by far the most delusional fans in the world, and they overhype a middling bowling attack that is 5/10 at best and has regularly bottled it under pressure exemplifies their delusions.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

They should perform like Indian bowlers and let the other team score in excess of 200 in every other game just to test how good Babar Azam is in chasing big totals like Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

Even if they do they will be called 'stats padder' because they scored on a patta pitch. Some hypocrites have different rules for different players.

 

[Anis Shivani]

Laughably overrated bowling attack that crumbles under pressure.

Shaheen: world class for his first two overs, nothing special at the death.

Rauf: he is turning into Sohail Tanvir. All he does is bowl cutters to proper batsmen because he doesn’t back himself to dominate them with pace.

His success hinges on the fact that batsmen have a hard time accepting the fact that he doesn’t have the courage to bowl quick to them.

They always pull the trigger early against him, expecting a 150 kph that he reserves for tailenders only.

Naseem: mediocre bowler who is too short to be successful in the long-term. His Test career has been a disaster especially away from home (in Australia, England and New Zealand) and in white ball cricket he looks okay when the new ball swings but apart from that he is always on the cusp of getting smashed.

He is going to fizzle out like Hassan who had a far better start to his career and enjoyed much higher highs but his lack of height caught up with him.

Hasnain: Sami 2.0. A mental midget. Like Naseem, he looks good only if the ball swings early and he completely loses his composure when the batsmen target him.

Dahani: mediocre bowler who is not 25% as good as he thinks he is. He is a camera merchant with over the top antics and celebrations, and yet another bowler who completely bottles it under pressure.

Wasim junior: a middling bowler, very average in all departments.

Shadab and Nawaz: two average spinners who will do the bare minimum 9/10 times. None of them evoke any fear in the opposition camp or have any sort of aura that the likes of Rashid Khan have.

No opposition looks at Pakistan bowling and views them as a big challenge. At their best they would give you a 4-0-25-1 and at their worst they would give you 4-0-40-0.

Neither of them are game changing, game defining bowlers. Pakistani fans are by far the most delusional fans in the world, and they overhype a middling bowling attack that is 5/10 at best and has regularly bottled it under pressure exemplifies their delusions.

Interesting contrarian views when fans are about to crown them champions of the world. Interested to know your views of the bowlers we had five or six years ago, before Nawaz/Shadab/Faheem, not to mention this latest crop of Shaheen/Naseem/Rauf/Waseem/Hasnain/Dhani. Were they better or worse circa 2015/2016?

 

[shamaan]

Probably the best in the World, hard to leave out anyone of them.

Pakistan needs to play 4 pacers on Australian pitches, Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf and Wasim.

Mohammed Rizwan (Wk)
Babar Azam
Shan Masood
Fakhar Zaman
Shadab Khan
Ithikhar Ahmed
Asif Ali
Mohammed Wasim
Shaheen Afridi
Haris Rauf
Naseem Shah

I think they will pick Nawaz becouse he can slog a few at the end.

 

[Third Man]

I think they will pick Nawaz becouse he can slog a few at the end.

Then it should probably be between Nawaz and Ifti. If your confidence in Iftikhar is so low that you're playing him at 7 then Nawaz is probably a better contender for that role.

 

[hitthestump]

Probably the best in the World, hard to leave out anyone of them.

Pakistan needs to play 4 pacers on Australian pitches, Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf and Wasim.

Mohammed Rizwan (Wk)
Babar Azam
Shan Masood
Fakhar Zaman
Shadab Khan
Ithikhar Ahmed
Asif Ali
Mohammed Wasim
Shaheen Afridi
Haris Rauf
Naseem Shah

I can go with this line up. I'd swap Nawaz for Chacha though i think, i prefer what Nawaz can bring with the ball but it probably doesn't make a lot of difference.

 

[shamaan]

Then it should probably be between Nawaz and Ifti. If your confidence in Iftikhar is so low that you're playing him at 7 then Nawaz is probably a better contender for that role.

Iftikhar will play and bat at 5 nawaz will proberly bat at 8

 

[Marooned]

It's pretty good and depth is amazing.

In t20s, always judge by the highs because there will be bad days for every single bowler on earth. The highs are really high. What Shaheen and Rauf can do is absolute elite tier skill. There's no bowler in world who matches Shaheen's magic, and right now Rauf gets into my world XI.

The rest are more inexperienced but can still cause lots of damage on a good day.

What it lacks is a bit of experience and Rauf has shown how much you can improve with a bit more experience.

Plus, in Shadab we have one of the top 3 spinners (Rashid, Hasaranga the other 2) in t20.

 

[Mamoon]

Interesting contrarian views when fans are about to crown them champions of the world. Interested to know your views of the bowlers we had five or six years ago, before Nawaz/Shadab/Faheem, not to mention this latest crop of Shaheen/Naseem/Rauf/Waseem/Hasnain/Dhani. Were they better or worse circa 2015/2016?

It is better than 2015-16 but still quite an average attack. 2015-16 was probably Pakistan’s worst phase as a bowling unit.

Wahab, Rahat and Junaid were the frontline pacers. PCB was hoping for Amir to return from his ban and resume from where he left in 2010 and they were still suffering the aftershocks of Ajmal and Hafeez getting their actions remodeled and losing their effectiveness.

Imad, past it Afridi and Yasir who was never limited overs material formed an inadequate spin attack. The likes of Anwar Ali offered nothing with the ball either. Even Mohammad Sami earned a recall because of the lack of options.

It is no surprise that the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20 were complete disasters for Pakistan.

 

[Ab Fan]

Good bowling attack allowing the stat padder to play risk free cricket and pad up their stats so much so that their fans forget that T20 cricket is also about maintaining high strike rate also.

 

[Suleiman]

Shaheen-Rauf-Naseem-Hasnain or Waseem Jr

Waseem Jr is doing well so far in NZ, but Hasnain has the higher ceiling + experience in BBL, so he’s my pick with Waseem on the bench. I’m not convinced on Dahani at all.

Rizwan
Babar
Haider (if Fakhar injured still) / Fakhar / M Harris
Shadab
Asif
Nawaz
Iftikhar
Rauf
Naseem
Hasnain
Shaheen

 

[Moiz14]

I think Pak and Aus have the best bowling attacks with Aus being the best due to familiarity with conditions...
Others are pretty avg.. May be SA are the third...
Rest are average including NZ, Eng, Ind WI, SL, Ban,

 

[shamaan]

Good bowling attack allowing the stat padder to play risk free cricket and pad up their stats so much so that their fans forget that T20 cricket is also about maintaining high strike rate also.

Says who Pant.

 

[shamaan]

Shaheen-Rauf-Naseem-Hasnain or Waseem Jr

Waseem Jr is doing well so far in NZ, but Hasnain has the higher ceiling + experience in BBL, so he’s my pick with Waseem on the bench. I’m not convinced on Dahani at all.

Rizwan
Babar
Haider (if Fakhar injured still) / Fakhar / M Harris
Shadab
Asif
Nawaz
Iftikhar
Rauf
Naseem
Hasnain
Shaheen

Rizwan
Babar
Fakhar
Haider Ali
Iftikhar
Asif
Shadab
Nawaz
Shaheen
Rauf
Naseem

Both Nawaz and Shadab should be used up and down the order depending on situation.

 

[PakLFC]

Shaheen, Rauf and Waseem if we have three pacers. Add Dahani if we play four pacers with Shadab the leggie.

 

[shady]

Rizwan
Babar
Fakhar
Haider Ali
Iftikhar
Asif
Shadab
Nawaz
Shaheen
Rauf
Naseem

Both Nawaz and Shadab should be used up and down the order depending on situation.

That’s the best team I think but I’m torn on if Wasim should play as a 4th seamer in place of Asif. It’s a question of do you want to shore up a weakness by playing an extra batter or really play to your strengths with the extra bowler.

 

[Farabi]

Good bowling attack allowing the stat padder to play risk free cricket and pad up their stats so much so that their fans forget that T20 cricket is also about maintaining high strike rate also.

Lol beware of stats padders… 152/0…

 

[Farabi]

Laughably overrated bowling attack that crumbles under pressure.

Shaheen: world class for his first two overs, nothing special at the death.

Rauf: he is turning into Sohail Tanvir. All he does is bowl cutters to proper batsmen because he doesn’t back himself to dominate them with pace.

His success hinges on the fact that batsmen have a hard time accepting the fact that he doesn’t have the courage to bowl quick to them.

They always pull the trigger early against him, expecting a 150 kph that he reserves for tailenders only.

Naseem: mediocre bowler who is too short to be successful in the long-term. His Test career has been a disaster especially away from home (in Australia, England and New Zealand) and in white ball cricket he looks okay when the new ball swings but apart from that he is always on the cusp of getting smashed.

He is going to fizzle out like Hassan who had a far better start to his career and enjoyed much higher highs but his lack of height caught up with him.

Hasnain: Sami 2.0. A mental midget. Like Naseem, he looks good only if the ball swings early and he completely loses his composure when the batsmen target him.

Dahani: mediocre bowler who is not 25% as good as he thinks he is. He is a camera merchant with over the top antics and celebrations, and yet another bowler who completely bottles it under pressure.

Wasim junior: a middling bowler, very average in all departments.

Shadab and Nawaz: two average spinners who will do the bare minimum 9/10 times. None of them evoke any fear in the opposition camp or have any sort of aura that the likes of Rashid Khan have.

No opposition looks at Pakistan bowling and views them as a big challenge. At their best they would give you a 4-0-25-1 and at their worst they would give you 4-0-40-0.

Neither of them are game changing, game defining bowlers. Pakistani fans are by far the most delusional fans in the world, and they overhype a middling bowling attack that is 5/10 at best and has regularly bottled it under pressure exemplifies their delusions.

Exactly, I wish Pak had trundler galore consisting of Chahar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep, and set the high standard of conceding 200+ every other game.

 

[Farabi]

I think Pak and Aus have the best bowling attacks with Aus being the best due to familiarity with conditions...
Others are pretty avg.. May be SA are the third...
Rest are average including NZ, Eng, Ind WI, SL, Ban,

For me. Aussie attack is no1.
After that, NZ/SA/Eng are all at par in these conditions.
Then, Pak, mainly due to lack of experience in general and specially in these conditions.
Then SL.
After that India.
WI, Ban, and the rest are in the same pile for me.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Rauf's advantage is he has played in BBL here unlike Indian bowlers or SA bowlers.

 

[MenInG]

Babar Azam on Pakistan's pace attack for the World Cup:

"Pakistan has always been known for producing and introducing good fast bowlers; Our current lot of pacers is very strong, and thsi group will get stronger with the addition of Shaheen Shah Afridi; Even those bowlers in our bench-strength are bowling well and performing well as we have seen in the previous matches where we tried different combinations of those bowlers; Haris as we have seen improved tremendously with the new ball and in death overs; Now our fast-bowlers have a good opportunity to show their skills and to show that we have the bowlers who can be used in different combinations"

 

[Grunge101]

Hasnain needs to be the 4th seamer if we go in with one spinner.

Well already have death overs bowling options sorted out. Shaheen and Rauf. Naseem if needed. Out of the 4th seamer you need someone that can bowl well with the new-ish ball. Hasnain has shown far better ability on that front than Waseem.

Waseem is not tall, bowls around 135-140. Not unlike Dahani except he has a better yorker. On Australian pictures you'll have top players waiting on their backfoot and simply pulling everything onto the legside. Exactly what we saw in the series against England when he was tonked around consistently.

Hasnain is a much better bowler in the first phase of the innings. When he gets his accuracy right at 150km/hr, he will be a handful for anyone. We've already seen a pattern of dismissals against him with batsmen trying to pull short of length deliveries and skying one in the air because the pace hurries them.

 

[Suleiman]

Hasnain needs to be the 4th seamer if we go in with one spinner.

Well already have death overs bowling options sorted out. Shaheen and Rauf. Naseem if needed. Out of the 4th seamer you need someone that can bowl well with the new-ish ball. Hasnain has shown far better ability on that front than Waseem.

Waseem is not tall, bowls around 135-140. Not unlike Dahani except he has a better yorker. On Australian pictures you'll have top players waiting on their backfoot and simply pulling everything onto the legside. Exactly what we saw in the series against England when he was tonked around consistently.

Hasnain is a much better bowler in the first phase of the innings. When he gets his accuracy right at 150km/hr, he will be a handful for anyone. We've already seen a pattern of dismissals against him with batsmen trying to pull short of length deliveries and skying one in the air because the pace hurries them.

Yeah, I too fear that Waseem will get smashed in Australia.

Australia is Hasnain’s home country at this point. Either way if Waseem does get smashed, Hasnain is an easy shoe in. No other pacer on the bench is really worth playing except for him.

 

[Suleiman]

Exactly, I wish Pak had trundler galore consisting of Chahar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep, and set the high standard of conceding 200+ every other game.

We had trundler galore in 2014-2016.

Some Pakistani fans are simply the most ungrateful fans to exist in any sport.

 

[Suleiman]

We had trundler galore in 2014-2016.

Some Pakistani fans are simply the most ungrateful fans to exist in any sport.

Not calling you ungrateful [MENTION=150126]Farabi[/MENTION], I mean fans like [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] where no degree of improvement in the team is ever seen as a positive over months, or years.

 

[Kroll]

Just seen this excerpt from BBC article on the WC.

South Africa's Anrich Nortje, New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson and Australia's Mitchell Starc will rival Wood as the quickest bowlers on show.

Surprised to Streets/Rock Thrower not mentioned?! Must have just forgot about him.

 

[Rana]

Just seen this excerpt from BBC article on the WC.



Surprised to Streets/Rock Thrower not mentioned?! Must have just forgot about him.

Rauf is definitely in the 150-155 bracket on his day

But Nortje and Wood are in the 155-158 bracket when in full flow

Furguson and Starc are not as fast as they used to be. They are in the 147-150 category I believe

 

[Grunge101]

Just seen this excerpt from BBC article on the WC.



Surprised to Streets/Rock Thrower not mentioned?! Must have just forgot about him.

Quite obviously written by someone who hasnt been watching cricket lately.

-Starc is no longer in that bracket. He's mostly 140-145 these days with the occasional effort ball touching 150.
- Ferguson in the last 12 months has been 145ish consistently with the occasional ball at 150.

Rauf is most certainly right up there with Nortje and Wood. His spells in Asia cup and Eng series were the fastest Ive seen anyone bowl in the last few years. Consistently 150 and above with the ceiling being 155. I do not believe Wood or Nortje has ever done that match after match.

Hasnain on a good day will also come into that bracket. He was 145-150 consistently in the Asia cup with the effort ball at 151. Not to forget he's bowled at 156 km/hr twice in the past.

 

[Grunge101]

Rauf is definitely in the 150-155 bracket on his day

But Nortje and Wood are in the 155-158 bracket when in full flow

I don't believe that's correct.

The fastest that Nortje has bowled in his career is 156 km/hr. He's never been consistently in that bracket you mentioned. Infact no one in world cricket currently has done that. The highest I've seen him bowl is between 148 and 154 which is not quicker than what Rauf was clocking in the AC.

The fastest Mark Wood has clocked is 156 km/hr as well. His fastest spells would be around the same pace that Rauf displayed recently 148-155.

They all have off days and on days. Last Nortje played was against India last week and he was around the 140-146 mark with the effort ball around 148.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Just seen this excerpt from BBC article on the WC.



Surprised to Streets/Rock Thrower not mentioned?! Must have just forgot about him.

Starc shouldn’t be in that conversation anymore, he is not express.

 

[MenInG]

Mohammad Sami speaking in an interview:

"Pakistan were lacking a strike bowler (in the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi). Haris Rauf has been bowling well, Mohammad Wasim Jr is also there. Shaheen's addition to the squad will make the bowling combination more lethal"

 

[Grunge101]

Yeah, I too fear that Waseem will get smashed in Australia.

Australia is Hasnain’s home country at this point. Either way if Waseem does get smashed, Hasnain is an easy shoe in. No other pacer on the bench is really worth playing except for him.

Whilst I want Hasnain to be picked instead of Wasim, what I wouldn't want is a musical chairs situation where they're both alternated every other match depending on their performance. There is no way either of them will perform in that high pressure situation where you're not sure if you'll be picked for the next game.

I agree, Hasnain would be a far better choice overall and specially in Australia. His natural length is shorter than of our other bowlers. With the square boundaries being much bigger than the straight ones, eg in Melbourne it's 87 meters, the usual ploy is to bowl shorter asking the batsmen to hit in that area. Bowling full is suallt a disaster. Hasnain with his natural length and pace can do that job much better than Wasim or Dahani.

 

[Markhor]

I agree, Hasnain would be a far better choice overall and specially in Australia. His natural length is shorter than of our other bowlers. With the square boundaries being much bigger than the straight ones, eg in Melbourne it's 87 meters, the usual ploy is to bowl shorter asking the batsmen to hit in that area. Bowling full is suallt a disaster. Hasnain with his natural length and pace can do that job much better than Wasim or Dahani.

Grunge I agree bowling strategies should account for ground dimensions. However I feel sometimes cricket pundits and statisticians can overdo this argument. For example, England played South Africa in a T20 in Bristol this summer.

The short straight boundary meant SAF were so frightened of bowling full, they bowled predictably short and got hammered. A well executed yorker is still a great option regardless of ground size.

If the batsmen can easily anticipate the length, they can quickly set themselves and take the ground dimensions out of the equation. Variety is still king.

So it's vital our guys keep the batsmen guessing and don't overdo the short stuff vs Ind who play the short ball better than our batsmen.

It's great Shaun Tait is bowling coach so he'll be ideally placed to advise the boys with his experience of Australian conditions.

 

[Kianig89]

Bowling wise as ever we are as good as anyone
Express Pacers tick
Swing bowlers tick
Bowlers who can bat a bit tick
Genuine spinner tick
All rounders tick

It's the batting fielding and leadership we are worried

 

[asadee]

We have to be bold and go with 4 pacers and the 2 regular spinners but knowing Babar we won't