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[VIDEOS/PICTURES] Abrar Ahmed - International performance watch

What impressed me the most was his control and temperament he is always attacking the wickets so abit of spin will make him dangerous.
 
His advantage is not the amount of turn but it’s utilising his deception. Well bowled
 
He can run through batting line ups on Indian and Bangladesh pitches. He is not lucky though because he is playing for a country who can't prepare doctored pitches to suit their bowlers. Pakistan tries too hard to be nice to their guests and gives them patta pitches mostly. It is not a sin to prepare home tracks to suit your own bowlers. This is the beauty of test cricket. :inti
 
Teams will watch videos and get used to him. He will then need to keep working hard on his craft and develop ways to disguise his tricks to be effective.
 
Usman Chadda said:
The reason for them persisting with Zahid, was because he had been in the team for so long and he deserved a chance more so than Abrar.

This kind of archaic thinking leads to us getting embarrassed time and again :facepalm:
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It’s baffling logic that Zahid got picked in the first place given his stats.

Makes one wonder how many players have been lost in the system for others on metrics other than merit.
 
His performance today makes a mockery of the decision to not pick him in the first Test in Rawalpindi.

Matching him and Zahid up, there is only one winner there.
 
So happy for Abrar. He was fantastic in National T20 and deserved his chance in the England T20 series but this shameful team simply had to play Usman Qadir. Outstanding in QeA too on grassy pitches in Pindi for most of his matches and he was simply outstanding.

Great bowler and I am happy to see him run through England's lineup despite England trying to attack him so hard to throw him off his line & length.

It is also completely unforgiveable Pakistan chose to not play him over Zahid. I cannot fathom how the coach & captain can look at both of these bowlers in the nets, look at their respective domestic stats and come out with the thinking Zahid should play over Abrar. Gave away the first match because of this decision.
 
Pakistan's 'Harry Potter' casts a spell over England

When Abrar Ahmed took five wickets with his beguiling spin in a club match in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, the then-15-year-old demanded his friends start calling him "superstar".

Nine years later, he has lived up to that self-billing, taking an impressive 7-114 on his Test debut as Pakistan dismissed England for 281 in their first innings in Multan on Friday.

Now nicknamed "Harry Potter" by friends because he wears glasses similar to those of the fictional boy wizard, Ahmed produced magic of his own on a turning pitch.

Brought on to bowl the ninth over of the match, Ahmed snagged his first Test wicket with just his fifth ball, bamboozling Zak Crawley (19) to give Pakistan a breakthrough.

"His passion for the game, the hard work he puts into bowling, and the thirst for taking wickets... it was just a matter of time before he made his mark at the international level," his brother Amjad told AFP by phone from Karachi.

Ahmed came into the spotlight in the 2019-20 domestic season, grabbing 57 wickets in the Grade-II tournament, including eight five-wicket hauls.

He earned his international call-up this year with 43 wickets in Pakistan's premier first class tournament.

Spinners' track

Ahmed followed his first wicket on Friday with the dismissals of Ben Duckett and Joe Root -- much to the delight of skipper Babar Azam who had wanted a spinners' track after losing the first Test on a lifeless pitch in Rawalpindi.

He then lured Ollie Pope and Harry Brook into following his looping deliveries for a five-wicket haul, becoming only the second debutant in history to do it before lunch on the opening day of a Test.

"I can't describe my feelings in words," he said at the end of the day.

"People do call me Harry Potter, but I am not a magician. I have done what is my job, and that is taking wickets."

Ahmed became the 13th Pakistan bowler to grab five or more wickets on debut.

He is the youngest of five brothers and three sisters, and comes from humble beginnings.

His father, a small-time transport operator in Karachi, wanted him to study religion, but Ahmed would escape to play tape-ball cricket in the neighbourhood.

There he was spotted by Masroor Ahmed, a successful coach with an eye for young talent, who took him under his wing.

"To make his father happy, he learned the Koran by heart, but also convinced him that he has a future in cricket," Masroor said. '

https://www.dhakatribune.com/cricket/2022/12/09/pakistans-harry-potter-casts-a-spell-over-england
 
looks like a LOI spinner

Would find it tough v traditional Test approach batting
 
First time seeing this chap, looks a real talent.

He just took a 7fr and some saying he is a LOI spinner lol.

He has a certain mystery and turns the ball both ways , with great drift too. Handled right, he could be a future ATG spinner.
 
Zero mystery to this "mystery" spinner. Will get found out pretty soon. And soon could be just this 2nd innings itself.

Right now it's just beginners luck which a lot of Pakistani's bowlers have had had in the past. Eventually they all get found out at this level.

He needs to bowl a tad quick especially the googly.
 
7 wickets yes, but england were just over-aggressive an created chances for him. The lack of control was a worry as not many maidens were strung together. I hope its not the case like weve seen with other spinners where they have 1 or 2 good games and disappear. Depending on how we bat on 1st inns and match situation, will be interesting to see how he bowls 2nd inns depending on match situation. He needs to bowl and build pressure and then try his variations as a surprise, otherwise bowlers get found out and fast.
 
shariqnoor said:
Zero mystery to this "mystery" spinner. Will get found out pretty soon. And soon could be just this 2nd innings itself.

Right now it's just beginners luck which a lot of Pakistani's bowlers have had had in the past. Eventually they all get found out at this level.

He needs to bowl a tad quick especially the googly.
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Anything else Mr. Nostradamus, you are setting yourself up for disappointment for such hasty claims, Boy has all basic ingredients and talent to succeed at this level now its all about how much hard work he put and keep improving himself.
 
Zeshan547 said:
Anything else Mr. Nostradamus, you are setting yourself up for disappointment for such hasty claims, Boy has all basic ingredients and talent to succeed at this level now its all about how much hard work he put and keep improving himself.
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I'm pretty sure you're the one setting yourself up for disappointment
 
Maybe should have given his glasses to Saqlain cause I have no clue what they saw in the nets before choosing Zahid in the 1st Test.
 
shariqnoor said:
Zero mystery to this "mystery" spinner. Will get found out pretty soon. And soon could be just this 2nd innings itself.

Right now it's just beginners luck which a lot of Pakistani's bowlers have had had in the past. Eventually they all get found out at this level.

He needs to bowl a tad quick especially the googly.
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What a cheap comment after this first day. Whatever happen after will be seen. But when someone achieve so highly on his debut you should praise him.
 
Awesome debut- good to see a young lad living his dream!
only 24 and he will get better. get it to spin both ways. needs to try and disguise his googly better. also possibly try and mix it up by bowling the odd quicker one. but a good prospect and one for the future
 
His real test will come when top teams have analysed him.
England will be working on it for the next test
 
He ain't no mug who has been randomly picked he's been picked on merit

He has taken 43 wickets in 7 matches in quid e azam trophy this year av of 21

5 5wl and 2 4wl
 
Amjid Javed said:
7 wickets yes, but england were just over-aggressive an created chances for him. The lack of control was a worry as not many maidens were strung together. I hope its not the case like weve seen with other spinners where they have 1 or 2 good games and disappear. Depending on how we bat on 1st inns and match situation, will be interesting to see how he bowls 2nd inns depending on match situation. He needs to bowl and build pressure and then try his variations as a surprise, otherwise bowlers get found out and fast.
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lol

5 of his wickets were either LBW or bowled.

He can turn the ball both ways , has good control along with good flight.

Of course some innings he will not be as good but hes new.

its silly to criticise him after his first and very impressive performance.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"My favourite wicket is Ben Stokes - my favourite player" ☺️<br><br>What a debut for Abrar Ahmed &#55358;&#56617;&#55357;&#56908;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvENG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvENG</a> <a href="https://t.co/60nQez9k8D">pic.twitter.com/60nQez9k8D</a></p>— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyCricket/status/1601191290913300480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
I think his control was actually good- it's just that everybody goes for runs vs England in this ultra aggressive mood. Sweeping everything on length.

He did the right thing and kept landing them on the stumps and straightening to bring in those LBWs when they miss (lucky for DRS, Dar was keeping his hands in his pockets all day for some reason).

I daresay in the 3rd inning if bounce becomes slightly irregular then the sweep will be even more difficult to control.

So he's a front of the hand leggy, which also allows him to carrom. Clearly he can be effective on turning pitches. I wonder though if he'll just be an Asian conditions bowler because generally front of the hand won't turn in SENA. Maybe he's smart enough to figure out a method though.
 
What a start! Great attitude ,brilliant line & length , can’t believe he never debuted in Pindi.. better late then never , now if Babar & Co can hold the crease for the next 2 days… I can see an innings win here 🤲🏼
 
Hope he doesn't go the Ajanta Mendis route ie become totally ineffective where teams do video analysis and totally figure him out and he fails to disguise his tricks, craft and doesn't develop a bowling IQ.
 
Loved his aggression. Englands attacking game couldn’t put him off his plans.
Has great variety the flipper,googly,leg break, in dipper.
Very confident and clever spinner
 
It’s a mark of Abrar’s quality that England are showing him a lot of respect in this innings.

They have clearly discussed playing him with soft hands at 2.5-3.0 an over in this innings and scoring a higher percentage of the runs off the others.

1-20 off 7 thus far.
 
shariqnoor said:
Zero mystery to this "mystery" spinner. Will get found out pretty soon. And soon could be just this 2nd innings itself.

Right now it's just beginners luck which a lot of Pakistani's bowlers have had had in the past. Eventually they all get found out at this level.

He needs to bowl a tad quick especially the googly.
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You should wait 5 Tests to make bold claims
 
Abrar Ahmed now has the best figures ever by a spin-bowler on Test debut for Pakistan.
 
Let’s say the mystery is bust. It will happen at some point

This is where the bowler now has to be confident enough to bowl long spells by keeping the ball in the right channels regardless of whether he is getting assistance from the wicket or not.

Nobody expects you to take 7 wickets an innings. All you must do is remain a threat throughout the Test.

Good, decent spinners can easily aim for 5-8 wickets per Test. That’s not a bad outcome
 
Abrar’s control has been brilliant.

It’s his control that will be the key to his success, not his ‘mystery’
 
Abrar's wicket of Will Jacks:

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/ydvzik" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Abrar's runout of Crawley:

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/yfm0so" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
Early this year Jayasuriya took 12 on debut vs Australia. Same year two 10 wicket debut first time in history.
 
The only bowler that remotely looks threatening and hes on test debut

Sums up the state of pakistans attack
 
Great match for abrar.


It may not be a popular opinion but i think he will be more of a t20 odi bowler in the future.
 
Well done on an excellent debut. His tests will come when teams sit on him- it could go one of 2 ways, he could get more confidence as no one is trying to whack him or he searches for more wickets with variety and loses control. I am not totally convinced but the guy can only play whats in front of him.
 
When Hirwani took 16 wickets Viv Richards make this exact statement. "One swallow doesn't makes a summer". Turns out his career never took off. It is somewhat a curse. You set your expectations way too high. You end up meeting and failing and eventually crashing out. I think Abrar dude can do well on certain kind of pitches. May be Srilanka, BD. turning Pak pitches. Landing is accurate.
 
Patta nahi in indian posters kou kion mirchay lagi hui hain, kisi ki kamyabi hazm nahi hou pa rahi. The lad has just taken a 10-for on his debut against a quality side. What will happen in future, no one knows, just need to appreciate the current performance.
 
IAJ said:
Patta nahi in indian posters kou kion mirchay lagi hui hain, kisi ki kamyabi hazm nahi hou pa rahi. The lad has just taken a 10-for on his debut against a quality side. What will happen in future, no one knows, just need to appreciate the current performance.
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COmmendable job. Best bowler from both sides.
 
Bhaag Viru Bhaag said:
I find it strange when posters like this guy judge players after 1 game(inning) and keep supporting failures even after 50+ matches. :inti
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If you had a modicum of intelligence, you wouldn't find it that strange. India does not have as much talent as many people think. It's fairly obvious for anyone who has seen our cricket. So I believe India needs to invest in whatever little talent we have.

Pakistan has, as per posters here, some ridiculously gifted players but the more this theory is put to test in Test cricket, the less it seems to hold . So colour me skeptical

I don't rate Abrar because I don't think he has what it takes to be a very good red ball spinner. He relies on mystery and that usually doesn't last. Let's wait until after 30 Tests to see what happens :)
 
Nikhil_cric said:
If you had a modicum of intelligence, you wouldn't find it that strange. India does not have as much talent as many people think. It's fairly obvious for anyone who has seen our cricket. So I believe India needs to invest in whatever little talent we have.

Pakistan has, as per posters here, some ridiculously gifted players but the more this theory is put to test in Test cricket, the less it seems to hold . So colour me skeptical

I don't rate Abrar because I don't think he has what it takes to be a very good red ball spinner. He relies on mystery and that usually doesn't last. Let's wait until after 30 Tests to see what happens :)
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Shouldn’t you have waited until after 30 tests before calling him average😉
 
Major concerns i have is he is not beating batsman in air, literally zero stumping appeals even though Engand bar aggressive.

The main thing i see if a spinner will have a long career or not is how much he is beating the batsman in air and creating stumping opportunities
 
jnaveen1980 said:
When Hirwani took 16 wickets Viv Richards make this exact statement. "One swallow doesn't makes a summer". Turns out his career never took off. It is somewhat a curse. You set your expectations way too high. You end up meeting and failing and eventually crashing out. I think Abrar dude can do well on certain kind of pitches. May be Srilanka, BD. turning Pak pitches. Landing is accurate.
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funny how indian fans are so bothered by a young pakitani bowing well taht they are coming with such things :)))

This kid has nothing to do with India, yet they are bothered :))
 
Major said:
funny how indian fans are so bothered by a young pakitani bowing well taht they are coming with such things :)))

This kid has nothing to do with India, yet they are bothered :))
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It is not about India. All the 10 wicket haulers in first test. Not a lot went on to make big. I said curse. Not a destiny. Stop being defensive. May be i should use Jason Kreja as an example.
 
RyanRyan10 said:
He will be the greatest spinner post Warne-Murali era. Mark My Words.
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"Mystery" spinners come and go, only classic spinners have long career, hope he will concentrate more on the traditional art of leg spin and googly.
 
RyanRyan10 said:
He will be the greatest spinner post Warne-Murali era. Mark My Words.
Click to expand...

"Mystery" spinners come and go, only classic spinners have long career, hope he will concentrate more on the traditional art of leg spin and googly.
 
He doesn't turn the ball prodigiously, his spin is very marginal. Batsmen will play him like Ajanta Mendis ie as an off break bowler who bowls at the stumps. He needs to work harder on his bowling.
 
They are guessing his googly because he bowls at slower pace than his regular leg breaks, he needs to slow down his leg breaks as well in order to not give it away
 
He’s still a threat but they are playing him much better in this 2nd innings to be honest.
 
Muhammad Saad said:
They are guessing his googly because he bowls at slower pace than his regular leg breaks, he needs to slow down his leg breaks as well in order to not give it away
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Very similar to Saqlain from 1999 to 2004. The world picked up on the fact his doosra was more loopy, slower wheras the off break was much faster.

Hopefully Abrar learns and develops his bowling with more experience and hard work. The most important skill for him to learn and master is the ability to bowl a consistent line, length, to vary the pace and the art of setting the batsman up.
 
Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed on Friday enjoyed a dream start to his international career picking up 7/114 on his Test debut. Abrar, 24, bamboozled the England batters with his variations and ran through their star-studded batting line-up to bowl the hosts out for 281 on the first day of the Multan Test. Not only did Abrar become the 13th Pakistan cricketer to claim a five-wicket-haul on debut, the youngster created history by being the first to do so inside the first session on the opening day. Abrar was on a role. And England had no answer.

As it turns out, the ground on which he grabbed his first-ever international five-for, Abrar has a long 18-year-old connection with. During India's historic tour of Pakistan, when Virender Sehwag smashed his famous triple century scoring 309, left an impact on a then-young Abrar. Of all the bowlers Sehwag smashed, he was the most brutal on Saqlain Mushtaq, the current head coach of the Pakistan Cricket team, and as the carnage unfolded in Multan, Abrar took notes.

"I still remember it was the Multan Test, where Virender Sehwag smashed that triple hundred, and he attacked Saqlain Mushtaq the most. Abrar was about six, and he used to point out mistakes in Saqlain bhai's bowling. My father got so annoyed because of his running commentary that he locked him in another room," recalls Abrar's brother Sajid in a conversation with The Indian Express.

When Abrar picked up his seventh wicket on Day 1, it looked as if he was on his way to join Jim Lanker, Anil Kumble and Ajaz Patel before the last three wickets were scalped by leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood. Else, what a debut it would have been, one that would have been highly unlikely to be duplicated.

Five years ago, in 2017, when Abrar had first made headlines in the PSL representing the Karachi Kings, Sajid recalls how Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Pakistan spinner who was then the coach of the Pakistan National Cricket Academy, had asked Abrar about Abdul Qadir. And the name did not ring a bell to the then-19-year-old. "Do you know who is Abdul Qadir?". Abrar came replied: "Ye kaun hai, kabhi naam nahi suna (Who is he, never heard his name)."

"Everyone started laughing and Mushtaq bhai told him 'You've registered yourself as a leg-spinner and you don't know about the greatest we ever produced. When he narrated this story to us, we also started laughing. Bachpan se itni deewangi cricket ko le kar aur itne bade legend ko nahi jaanta (He was so passionate about cricket since childhood, but had no clue about such a legend)," mentioned Sajid.

And he did something even the legendary Qadir couldn't – enter the history books in his first-ever Test.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...kistan-spinner-s-brother-101670613061537.html
 
EoNjtls.png
 
Abrar's 11 wickets compilation:

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/dnjajt" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
 
ex-q-zit said:
Abrar's 11 wickets compilation:

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/dnjajt" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>
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Most wickets look like batsman looking to attack. Lets see what he can do in the near future. Lets not hype him.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
If you had a modicum of intelligence, you wouldn't find it that strange. India does not have as much talent as many people think. It's fairly obvious for anyone who has seen our cricket. So I believe India needs to invest in whatever little talent we have.

Pakistan has, as per posters here, some ridiculously gifted players but the more this theory is put to test in Test cricket, the less it seems to hold . So colour me skeptical

I don't rate Abrar because I don't think he has what it takes to be a very good red ball spinner. He relies on mystery and that usually doesn't last. Let's wait until after 30 Tests to see what happens :)
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30 Tests? You are being too generous. Wouldn't last 15 Tests probably unless he's flogged to death by the selectors like they do with Azhar Ali.
 
Great debut, but I don't see the mystery lasting for too long. His action for the Googly is very obvious and the ball invariably comes slower. He will need to evolve there and I hope he will - it's always good to see a bowler evolve and hone his skills. The number of wickets versus England is an anomaly, due to Bazball which is inherently high risk.
 
He has a heart of a Champion. Played a counter attacking cameo. Had Salman Agha been a bit positive in his approach, result would have been different.
 
RyanRyan10 said:
He has a heart of a Champion. Played a counter attacking cameo. Had Salman Agha been a bit positive in his approach, result would have been different.
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Tbh Salman Agha did his best in the circumstances. Stokes placed 8 fielders on the boundary for Salman. Abrar was able to successfully play his cameo because Stokes had most fielders in for him and he surprised them. Salman was only able to hit boundaries of the final 2 balls of the over when Stokes moved the fielders in to prevent the singles.

If anything our tail enders are disgraceful. In international cricket you have to be able to bat competently. There is no hiding place, good captains are able to keep the proper set batsman at the other end.
 
shariqnoor said:
30 Tests? You are being too generous. Wouldn't last 15 Tests probably unless he's flogged to death by the selectors like they do with Azhar Ali.
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Spinners need a bit of time to develop. Especially wrist spinners. I may have come across as a bit harsh on young Abrar but that's simply because I don't think he gives it a big enough rip consistently.

Nevertheless, there is a tiny probability that he will continue to fox batsmen who don't pick his variations. It's It's slim one but one can only judge it after a significant number of matches
 
Abrar Ahmed has entered the rankings in 60th place (ICC Test Rankings for bowlers) after a sensational debut in Multan that saw him finish with an 11-wicket haul.
 
Really interested to see how England play him in Karachi. Aggressively, respectfully, well, badly? Something else?

Key to England’s prospects of getting a 3-0 series win will be them settling on a consistent strategy to deal with Abrar.
 
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