Thoughts on Shaheen Shah Afridi's batting ability?

[Thunderbolt14]

Were the shots today flukes or perhaps something to work with?

 

[angrypathan]

Will never be an allrounder by any means but from all reports he really enjoys batting and should continue to improve. Hopefully he can develop into a handy lower order batsman in the coming years.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

I recall him mentioning that he considered himself a bowling all rounder in his U19 days, and even if he’s seemed terrible so far it does indicate he considers himself multidimensional and batting is something he is clearly working on.

I always see the management sending him at number 9 ahead of the other tailenders, and a recent clip of him batting in the nets during the Zimbabwe series shows that it’s something Misbah has given the directive to work on. Younis Khan also mentioned in an interview that they want to ensure that even the tail can hold its own to a decent extent, and he was working with Shaheen, Abbas, and Naseem in the nets during the England tour.

Shaheen has long arms too, which are fairly useful in generating momentum with the bat and it’s not the first time he’s hit a surprise boundary. I’d like to see him work on it more in times to come, especially if he can improvise the way he did today.

Even if he ends up becoming a handy number 9, it would do wonders to shorten the tail.

 

[MHN1293]

I would gladly accept him becomming another pat cummins in terms of batting.

 

[Mamoon]

He can be a handy tail-ender like Amir was early in his career or someone like Gul or Sami.

 

[Ab Fan]

Will be useful for Pakistan if he can become a Wasim/Starc level batter. Batting skills of bowlers improve with time and age.

His wikipedia says that he considers himself as an all-rounder. I am sure he would have done some batting or shown some hitting prowess to be considered that and rest will get better with age.

 

[Mamoon]

Shaheen is one of those naturally gifted athletes who can be good at anything if he works on it. If he wants to become a decent batsman he can, but it will be better if he focus purely on his bowling and remain a useful tail-ender.

Another such naturally gifted athlete in recent times was Raza Hasan the spinner. He could have become Pakistan’s Jadeja but he got into recreational drugs and started smoking some nasty stuff.

 

[naseem]

Saw Naseem working on his batting......Saheen can do it but not at the cost of bowling.....he can be a handy hitter at 9

 

[Justcrazy]

You do not need all rounders at 9 , 10 , 11 , what you need is tail which can hit three , four lusty blows , like 12 - 15 runs of 5 - 6 balls . This is what is required.

 

[Hasan123]

He definitely has the ability to be a good tail ender. No harm in him working on his batting to a standard where he can hang around. He showed in his cameo he can play big shots.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Saw Naseem working on his batting......Saheen can do it but not at the cost of bowling.....he can be a handy hitter at 9

Don't know why one has to be at the cost of another. He can work on both with a clear mind.

 

[shamaan]

If he can get some runs like amir that be good enough seems like a player who's willing to learn and improve

 

[TeymurBlake]

I wouldn't mind him improving his batting. Specially with the No.9 slot being his.

 

[NauV]

I wouldn't look into it too much! He should aim to become like a Mitchell Starc or Stuart Broad . . that would be very handy for Pak . .

Actually, this goes for all our tail-enders . . we have the worst tail in the world! No good team in the world carries 3 or 4 bowlers who can hardly hold a bat anymore! Tailenders are adding useful runs for top teams and that often ends up being the difference in close-ish games . .

 

[naseem]

Don't know why one has to be at the cost of another. He can work on both with a clear mind.

It can but there are only a few Starc or Southee...... We all know what happened to I Pathan.....

 

[Mirpur express]

He has long handles & reminds me of Umar Gul with clean hitting in the V, if he can average 10+ that would be handy but the way he has improved his bowling in the last 2yrs I won’t be surprised if he turns into a decent bowling all rounder

 

[angrypathan]

I wouldn't look into it too much! He should aim to become like a Mitchell Starc or Stuart Broad . . that would be very handy for Pak . .

Actually, this goes for all our tail-enders . . we have the worst tail in the world! No good team in the world carries 3 or 4 bowlers who can hardly hold a bat anymore! Tailenders are adding useful runs for top teams and that often ends up being the difference in close-ish games . .

Mitchell Starc has a test 99 in India. If Shaheen can match even half that I'll take it

 

[Caved12]

Shaheen and Musa have surprised me with their batting recently.

Musa should be nowhere near our team, but we must work on Shaheen's batting, who can become a very decent player at number 8 or 9.

 

[Mo Dipsy]

Anyone remember the straight 6 he hit off Steyn? The footwork, the follow through- all technically beautiful

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Except for hitting a few sixes here and there haven't seen much from him. Guys like Hassan Ali and M Abbas have contributed a lot more with the bat. Abbas has a decent defensive technique and Hassan Ali has hit 30+ scores quite a few times.

Hopefully Shaheen will improve his batting in the long term because we got the longest tail in the world in Test cricket which is an issue.

 

[Tubs]

When I saw that huge six, with my mouth agape, my dad said (in Pothwari) 'well, he's a monster of a man isn't he'. I agree with the talk of him being a natural athlete. He could definitely turn out to be a decent low-order hitter. Probably won't get to the level of Tanvir, but perhaps Gul.

 

[gazza619]

Will make a good number 9 batsman if he really works hard.

 

[RickyG]

He can be a handy tail-ender like Amir was early in his career or someone like Gul or Sami.

Amir actually had batting potential. Gul was just a slogger. An inferior version of Hassan Ali or a better version of Boult. Sami was just a blocker.

Amir could've become a bowling all-rounder if he really wanted to better. It's a shame that people like Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah and Sohail Khan improved their batting so much but Amir never worked on any aspect of his game.

 

[MenInG]

He will need to contribute more in ODIs where steady batting is needed as opposed to T20Is.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Good for slogging against pacers for last couple overs, but not a good batter against spin or to hold an end really. So far I guess he is an okay no. 8 for Pakistan in T20Is but needs some work for longer format batting.

 

[owenhcricket]

My thoughts: he is a no. 8 batsman.

 

[Bewal Express]

A number 10/11

 

[boomboomcheema]

Fell short by 20 runs in the end. Sad end to the innings.

 

[The_KING]

In Pakistan, anyone who can slog a couple of sixes is deemed a batsman. Shaheen is a number 10/11 batsmen and playing him any higher makes the batting lineup weak.

 

[Hextro]

Shaheen isn't a batsman and he shouldn't be treated as such. Being able to bat decently is fine but he shouldn't let that distract him from his main job, which is bowling.

 

[Champ_Pal]

He is a very handy No.8 or 9. Can hit big blows to close out the innings. He reminds me of Mitch Starc.

 

[shamaan]

He isn't a batter he's tailender who can slog at the end.

 

[Marooned]

He has no obligation to contribute as a batsman. If there is one guy in our team who can get away with being a total liability with bat, it's him because he is a star bowler.

As a batsman, his technique is inconsistent and he can never ever be relied upon even for small runs.

That said, he keeps producing handy knocks here and there which is much more than what is needed from him.

 

[Saj]

I prefer him to go for his shots.

He always looks better when attacking as his defensive game isn't very strong.

But I like his attitude whatever the situation and whatever facet of the game.

 

[MenInG]

Now's the time to get his skills to test.... Pakistan in dire need of a supporting act to help Shadab.

 

[MenInG]

Losing his ability it seems

 

[pakistanbest]

Should be our new number 11, Rauf and Naseem are more competent than him with the bat.