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[VIDEOS/PICTURES] Is Shaheen Shah Afridi the best fast-bowler in the world right now?

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MenInG

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We heard that his heart was not in his job, he was never going to be the same player he was before his injury, his pace was too slow to bother the top batters.

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And this was Virat Kohli watching him bowl today

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But he removed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will deliveries they will think about for a long time to come.

So I ask, Is Shaheen Shah Afridi the best bowler in the world at the moment?
 
An honest assessment, bowled poorly before the rain interruption, not just today but against Nepal too. He’s trying way too hard to bowl those in swinging Yorkers, and instead they’re going down the leg side or they’re full tosses. As soon as he came back, he pulled his length back and he looked more threatening.

He’s also lucky to have a partner that’s very economical. There used to be a time where we’d have someone like Amir bowl good opening spells but the pressure would’ve been released from the other end. Naseem bowling the way he is right now is hugely beneficial for Shaheen.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
An honest assessment, bowled poorly before the rain interruption, not just today but against Nepal too. He’s trying way too hard to bowl those in swinging Yorkers, and instead they’re going down the leg side or they’re full tosses. As soon as he came back, he pulled his length back and he looked more threatening.

He’s also lucky to have a partner that’s very economical. There used to be a time where we’d have someone like Amir bowl good opening spells but the pressure would’ve been released from the other end. Naseem bowling the way he is right now is hugely beneficial for Shaheen.
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well that's quite right... he is not giving his 100%.. bowled some wides and full tosses too.
 
Naseem is better. Shaheen is definitely more threatening, but naseem bowls such perfect line and length. Theirs a reason why he's always the most economical and ends up picking up 2 to 3 wickets.

It's why he was the best bowler in the NZ series, every bowler was struggling in a batting paradise pitch was 320 was par score while naseem was a million dollars.

Glenn mcgrath was also perfect line and length, naseem reminds of Him. Not comparing naseem to Glenn but naseem rn imo is the best bowler in the world. No one matches this guys consistency, not even bumrah.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
well that's quite right... he is not giving his 100%.. bowled some wides and full tosses too.
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He is giving his 100%, that's why he bowled those wides and full tosses, because he's trying his best to take wickets and hence is aiming for that inswing or an inswing yorker but ends up missing the mark.

He's a solid wicket taker but naseem is more consistent. Naseem just bowls perfect line and length and wicket eventually falls while maintaining economy.

Honestly all 3 complement each other, this is clearly the best bowling attack we've ever had in the last decade and that's an achievement considering the bowlers who have come and gone over the years.

Shaheen is always doing his best to take wickets and it ends up working more often then not despite a few inconsistent deliveries because he eventually gets that unplayable inswing, slow ball and reverse swing, Naseem relies on pure line and length and hence achives economy + a few wickets and haris experiments constantly and tries new things to diarupt the batsmen which is why he gets wickets.
 
He is a fantastic bowler but last couple games he’s been a bit wayward including the Afghanistan series.

A lot of wides and a bit predictable with the full length delivery.

He is a brilliant bowler. Probably top 3 in the world but needs to improve on his bouncer and death bowl bowling.

With that said his death ball bowling today was pretty good !

Every bowler has their flaws but it seems like he’s willing to learn and bring his game to the next level.

He’s super young and will likely spearhead the Pakistan bowling lineup for many years if he remains injury free.
 
ICC OID bowling rankings right now:

1. Hazlewood
2 Starc
3. Mujeeb ur Rahman
4. Mohammed Siraj
5. Rashid Khan
6. Matt Henry
7. Boult
8. Adam Zampa
9. Shaheen
10. Kuldeep

Even though he is currently ranked #9, just instinctively, Shaheen seems to be the most dangerous of the lot to me at the moment. He may not bowl it as fast as Naseem or Rauf but he has a large variety of skills: he swings it both ways, bowls well both over the wicket and around, has a good slower delivery, he knows how to set up a batsman, and at 6 foot 6 he gets good bounce.

For some reason, we are so obsessed with pace that I feel that it blinds us to appreciate his other finer skills. Yes, "pace is pace", but 139 kmph is it fast enough.
 
The bowler I most fear when playing against us in LOIs. Idk how he ranks numbers wise.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
Pace was down as well today, would need to look back but I’m sure he was bowling 147kph vs Nepal.
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Was Shaheen really bowling at 147 KPH vs Nepal?

If so, that means he is nearly back to full fitness. Even in the late 130s he is almost unplayable.
 
Genuine fear factor in Indian batsmen’s minds

I’ve only seen Shoaib Akhtar have this kind of psychological presence in Indian batters minds
 
He is extremely impressive & when on song looks like a poetry on motion. But on a big day, crunch match I would still choose Starc & Boult over him. These two have this magical ability where they suddenly turn into monsters in world cups even though they may not play for years or remain out of form in entire seasons. Afridi needs to have a such destructive icc event which he stiil hasn't been able to deliver. Until then he will be the third best in my opinion. This world cup might potentially be that event which defines his legacy.
 
Best LOI bowler? Yes.
Best all format bowler? No. His test stats lack performance vs top teams.
 
Lacks pace to be the best. Best is starc
 
Ab Fan said:
Best LOI bowler? Yes.
Best all format bowler? No. His test stats lack performance vs top teams.
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Think he is one of those bowlers who look threatening all the time - makes each of his spells so interesting
 
Major said:
Lacks pace to be the best. Best is starc
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What are you talking about? He is not even peak fitness at the moment and is regularly in the low 140s. Before his injury, he easily breached the 145 mark consistently. He will get there again.
 
ExpressPacer said:
What are you talking about? He is not even peak fitness at the moment and is regularly in the low 140s. Before his injury, he easily breached the 145 mark consistently. He will get there again.
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So he is not the best right now. Just cause he bowled fast an year or two before doesn't warrant him to be the CURRENT best fast bowler.

No one knows if he will get there for sure
 
Major said:
So he is not the best right now. Just cause he bowled fast an year or two before doesn't warrant him to be the CURRENT best fast bowler.

No one knows if he will get there for sure
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As someone above has posted, he bowled 147 KPH in the game vs Nepal. His average pace has also been in the low 140s. So, that’s seriously fast.

I have to agree that Starc was faster and probably better in his prime. But at the moment, I would say that Starc is not better than Shaheen. Starc’s pace has also considerably decreased.
 
ExpressPacer said:
Was Shaheen really bowling at 147 KPH vs Nepal?

If so, that means he is nearly back to full fitness. Even in the late 130s he is almost unplayable.
Click to expand...

Can’t seem to find it, unfortunately.

If I was the chairman of PCB, I’d do whatever it takes to protect my two biggest assets. After the WC, Naseem and Shaheen will be off to the BBL, and from there they will go straight into the PSL.

PCB need to prevent both of these players from playing in foreign leagues, the only way to probably do that without causing a rift is to reimburse them. Doesn’t have to be the full earnings, even 50% of what they were to earn should be enough to persuade them not to go.
 
Still not back to pre injury levels. It took him a while to realise that the Inds opened their stances to avoid LBWs, which opened up the area around off stump. The ball to Rohit Sharma was a beautiful piece of Bowling but what I could see at home, SSA took a while to see
 
I believe us Pakistanis should stop this “best this”, “best that” nonsense. Indians should do but I can’t speak for them. It’s almost as if that’s the pinnacle - someone said someone is the best etc etc, let’s be happy.

You have a very good bowler, but there are many very good bowlers. Just appreciate we have good bowlers, world class bowlers or whatever. The best argument can happen later post career.
 
TheSultan said:
I believe us Pakistanis should stop this “best this”, “best that” nonsense. Indians should do but I can’t speak for them. It’s almost as if that’s the pinnacle - someone said someone is the best etc etc, let’s be happy.

You have a very good bowler, but there are many very good bowlers. Just appreciate we have good bowlers, world class bowlers or whatever. The best argument can happen later post career.
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It makes good copy and gets people talking.
 
In ODI's, yes.

In all formats combined (and tests especially) Naseem is / will be way ahead.

MenInG said:
We heard that his heart was not in his job, he was never going to be the same player he was before his injury, his pace was too slow to bother the top batters.

F5BpO_tboAADTmr



And this was Virat Kohli watching him bowl today

F5A8Tqba4AA0Dwb



But he removed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will deliveries they will think about for a long time to come.

So I ask, Is Shaheen Shah Afridi the best bowler in the world at the moment?
Click to expand...
 
With the new ball he is a real handful and amongst the best in the World but his bowling at the end of innings needs improvement. His ideas at the end are fine but execution can be average
 
Shaheen isn't just the best all format bowler, regardless of bowling type but also the best cricketer aged under 25.
 
i would say he is the best fast bowler of this decade, so consistent in taking early wickets.
 
Shaheen Shah Afridi speaking in an interview:

"Every match against India is special and people watch this a lot," the 23-year-old said Friday. "I used to wait for this match as a fan before I played under-16 cricket."

Regarding his spell of 4-35 vs India in the Group A game:

"I can't say this has been my best spell so far. This is just the start and there will be many more, so the best is yet to come."

"If you play all the three formats at such a young age for Pakistan and handle the new ball, people expect you to perform like that"

"We know our roles with the new and old ball,"

"Haris is quicker than us and impacts with his pace. Naseem and I try to get early breakthroughs."

"The communication is good between us and that's our success."

"It's your match time that helps you improve. These Test matches against Sri Lanka recently made me improve as I bowled long spells and fielded all day - So that cleared all doubts about the knee injury."

"All the foreign players who have played in the IPL (Indian Premier League), we had discussions with them. I think our Pakistan wickets or Dubai pitches will be similar,"

"Spinners will get more help, maybe. We will hit good lengths. Our team performance is going well as the number one (ODI) team. We have prepared well."

"I try to pick his [Shahid Afridi] brains before a big game and include it in my plans as he was a big-match player"

"He talks simply and says: 'Just play your cricket'."

"I don't go out much and stay in my room. Just stay indoors, make green tea... and talk about anything other than cricket - That keeps me relaxed."
 
Looking a bit off-color today and I guess he got injured as well while going for that catch on naseem shah's bowl. Looking for an update regarding his condition.
 
Not seen him smashed like he has been today for a long time.

Already 1 six and 6 fours.

Overpitched, not bowling full pace, no bouncers or yorkers and now off the field.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Looking a bit off-color today and I guess he got injured as well while going for that catch on naseem shah's bowl. Looking for an update regarding his condition.
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No one can be perfect everyday. He has been great till today. He is allowed to have off days.

Pitch looks flat. Indian bowlers will also face difficulty here.
 
Shaheen in the past has shown many times that he can totally lose the plot when he gets attacked
 
SSA gets cowed too easily at times. He bowls a really good bowl to Gill, Gill plays an amazing drive which was highly risky. SSA should have bowled it there( around off stump) again. Instead he starts to feel the heat and goes around the wicket and bowls too 1/2 volleys. You know he is beaten when he panics and goes around the wicket early in his spell.
 
As I’ve said many times. Yes he will get wickets due to his movement but he has definitely lost something and there are times he seems no more than a trundler and is treated as such. This is not like the thrashing he got from Wade which was Wade being clever and using shaheen’s pace to his advantage. He is now attacked with aplomb down the ground.

I know I’ll get attacked for this. Next time he takes 3/4 wickets I’ll be prompted to apologise by all the emotional posters.

But I’ll keep voicing my honest opinion. Unless he gets his zip back he’s going downhill
 
TheSultan said:
As I’ve said many times. Yes he will get wickets due to his movement but he has definitely lost something and there are times he seems no more than a trundler and is treated as such. This is not like the thrashing he got from Wade which was Wade being clever and using shaheen’s pace to his advantage. He is now attacked with aplomb down the ground.

I know I’ll get attacked for this. Next time he takes 3/4 wickets I’ll be prompted to apologise by all the emotional posters.

But I’ll keep voicing my honest opinion. Unless he gets his zip back he’s going downhill
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Khich ke rakh

Naseem is a world class bowler in his first 6 balls.

That’s it
 
I think Naseem is better than him.

Also, bowlers like Starc, Cummins, and Boult are probably better than him.
 
Naseem is consistently good because he has a king and length he can hit consistently.

Shaheen seems to be over obsessed with trying to swing it back into the right hander that he's completely lost his standard delivery, which should be on a length on or just outside off stump.

Today he was literally all over the place, amateurish bowling. Could be due to an injury but this seems to be the pattern it late.

In the 100 he takes two wickets off the first two deliveries and then gets smoked for 20 off the next 5 deliveries...
 
Got smashed today.
Really satisfied to see our batters gaining some confidence against him like this.
 
With the talent they have, both need to bowl a test length. Naseems radar is out by a tiny bit because he doesn't trust what will happen to his ball when he attacks the off stump.
 
I do honestly believe that today's attack by Gill will do Shaheen some good and get him thinking in future, that he cannot just go out there swing the ball back, bowl one length and pick up wickets.
 
He is a quality bowler but not the best.

For him to be the best, he needs to improve his outswingers and his bouncers. He also needs to be less predictable. Everyone and their dog knows what sort of balls he will bowl with a new ball.

He also needs to improve his mentality. I have seen him completely lose the plot once he started getting smashed. I remember a PSL game where David Weise had to calm him down because he completely lost it mentally after getting smashed.

We have a very good bowler on our hands, but there is no need to overhype him. Shaheen needs to improve in some areas to be considered the best in the world.
 
ExpressPacer said:
As someone above has posted, he bowled 147 KPH in the game vs Nepal. His average pace has also been in the low 140s. So, that’s seriously fast.

I have to agree that Starc was faster and probably better in his prime. But at the moment, I would say that Starc is not better than Shaheen. Starc’s pace has also considerably decreased.
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Shaheen cant bowl at death look at him today
 
Clearly not the best bowler in the world. His poor death bowling always cost us big time.
 
aukhan said:
Clearly not the best bowler in the world. His poor death bowling always cost us big time.
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After one bad match? He is the best bowler with the new ball and even the best can have bad games. He was having too many great games of late. He was bound to have a forgettable game.
 
Bowling with an injured finger too. Consider that.
No denying that he had an off game today. Even the best can have them.
 
Trent Boult is becoming all round bowler these days. A complete bowler. Let me put this way. He is better than he was 2 years back.
 
Just watched the replay of yesterday's play since Pakistan offered nothing much to watch in the last hour :rabada2

Much as Gill was very aggressive to him (apparently he'd prepared a lot last few days against left-arm pace), Afridi's lines were terrible to start and even when he came around the wicket, he was too full and getting driven.

I'd call it a bad day for him which happens to everyone. But a very enjoyable one, nonetheless, considering his shenanigans in the past. Hope he continues to have these days against us especially in the World Cup, where he anyway has a dubious record in the really big moments :)
 
Shaheen has been performing remarkably well for Pakistan in the last couple of years and he is right up there with the best. His first spell with the brand new ball is probably the best in the world and his death bowling is world class too. But I am not sure that he is that much effective in the middle overs and this is where he needs to make an improvement.
 
Devadwal said:
It's just a off day ,he is a class bowlers but I rate Naseem above him .
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Afridi is a serial choker in big matches. Nobody like Wade hit 3 6s in 1 over. I rate even Pandya over him under pressure. Shami. Siraj. Thakur and Bumrah is way above him. If Bumrah was fit and Shami played last night we will be all out under 50.
 
Major said:
Shaheen cant bowl at death look at him today
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Bowling fast is not everything. You need intellect to outplay batsman. Prasad performed better than Waqar with slower speed due to his intelligence in World Cup.
 
His first 8 overs may have been meh
but that 9th over, to me, shows he can never be discounted as a bowler
 
What a bowler.
What a superstar.

Almost won the match for Pakistan.
Gave cornered tiger vibes
 
He is up there, with so much cricket going on there are going to be slip ups here and there. Even all the names mentioned in this thread don't have a 100% record.
 
He needs to use the outswinger he is bringing everything back in to the right hander and the batter is ready for this.
 
Bowled tripe today

Was lucky that full toss didn’t go for 6. It should have been sent out of the ground
 
We overrate our players alot. Our bowlers.
He is very good but there are a few bowlers ahead of him. Naseem has outperformed him so far in terms of impact.
 
Shaheen is a decent bowler but not the great world beater he is hyped to be. He is the best in a bad lot. His record against the Top 4 teams in the proper formats ie Test and ODIs is hardly anything to talk about.
 
Savak said:
Shaheen is a decent bowler but not the great world beater he is hyped to be. He is the best in a bad lot. His record against the Top 4 teams in the proper formats ie Test and ODIs is hardly anything to talk about.
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If the ball isn’t talking

Shaheen isn’t walking
 
yes he is the best when he gets support in form of swing but once the ball stop moving he becomes one of the worst because he always tries to pitch the ball up in either case ball swings or not which usually cost him runs early on speacially when ball doesnt swing.
 
He is the best NEW ball bowler in the world undoubtedly. Not quite the same with the old ball. Terrific bowler regardless. Would say just a touch under nortje, bumrah, starc currently. Siraj is number 1 right now but siraj hasn't played enough yet.
 
kron said:
He is the best NEW ball bowler in the world undoubtedly. Not quite the same with the old ball. Terrific bowler regardless. Would say just a touch under nortje, bumrah, starc currently. Siraj is number 1 right now but siraj hasn't played enough yet.
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still i belive Siraj has better control over the ball than shaheen.

Shaheen is not the same after the comback from the injury, his pace has decreased, after 4 overs he looks totally toothless, in death overs he is not quite consistent with yorkers. Lot of things happening with SSA which need to be addressed.
 
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