What next for Shaheen Shah Afridi?

[RedwoodOriginal]

I saw Shaheen's bowling in the famous WT20 2021 game against India and bowling in the first ODI vs Australia (2024). I'm no bowling expert but it is clear that biomechanically at least Shaheen's body is not in the same place.

Instantly the first thing you notice is that his right leg (injury one) used to plant very adjacent to his run up. It was not perfect but it was straight to the naked eye. Because of it his body was more upright. His release point was also near perfect. That also assisted with the swing and speed.

Now a days his right leg is not being planted straight as forcefully as it used to. He collapses a bit before planting and releasing the ball. The right leg is planted more to the right side which in turn also opens his body a bit more. That doesn't allow Shaheen to make the straight bend completely and stay upright. I suspect the release point might also be early because of it.

All in all I think the biggest problem with his bowling and action is that he is protecting his knee. Consciously or subconsciously.

Good analysis. This is something alot of people have said ever since he came back from injury. That he is holding back to protect his knee. On one hand I can understand it, on the other hand it's just sad to see. He had everything it took to be a generational talent prior to his injury. Now he looks like a shadow of his former self even when he is taking wickets.

 

[shaz619]

Good analysis. This is something alot of people have said ever since he came back from injury. That he is holding back to protect his knee. On one hand I can understand it, on the other hand it's just sad to see. He had everything it took to be a generational talent prior to his injury. Now he looks like a shadow of his former self even when he is taking wickets.

He seemed to have bowled well in the last two matches? but I’ve not watched ball by ball. I thought he still carried the Pak attack in the WC as well and his ranking doesn’t surprise me. I think if he is still worried about his knee then it would be better he takes some time out to fully heal but that will never happen in Pakistan, the next best option would be for him to turn into a guy who uses variation and cutters, especially on most surfaces with no assistance. Not a lot of people agree with this but I think having Amir in the set-up relieves the pressure off the other bowlers and if they tone down the ego he can help them become more savvy with the white ball.

 

[RidiculousMan]

He seemed to have bowled well in the last two matches? but I’ve not watched ball by ball. I thought he still carried the Pak attack in the WC as well and his ranking doesn’t surprise me. I think if he is still worried about his knee then it would be better he takes some time out to fully heal but that will never happen in Pakistan, the next best option would be for him to turn into a guy who uses variation and cutters, especially on most surfaces with no assistance. Not a lot of people agree with this but I think having Amir in the set-up relieves the pressure off the other bowlers and if they tone down the ego he can help them become more savvy with the white ball.

He is doing well because of his experience now.

But the pace and amount of swing is not there anymore. At 133KPH is not much of a threat. He used to get good swing at 140-145KPH before injury

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

He seemed to have bowled well in the last two matches? but I’ve not watched ball by ball. I thought he still carried the Pak attack in the WC as well and his ranking doesn’t surprise me. I think if he is still worried about his knee then it would be better he takes some time out to fully heal but that will never happen in Pakistan, the next best option would be for him to turn into a guy who uses variation and cutters, especially on most surfaces with no assistance. Not a lot of people agree with this but I think having Amir in the set-up relieves the pressure off the other bowlers and if they tone down the ego he can help them become more savvy with the white ball.

Without a doubt he has bowled well in this series. But the standards that Shaheen set when he came onto the scene were so high that his current performances pale in comparison. At the end of the day, he is simply not the same bowler he was that was in the conversation with guys like Bumrah, Cummins, Rabada as one of the best fast-bowlers in the world. A guy who was almost guaranteed to provide you with a wicket in his first over. The most amazing thing was that the batters would know that it was going to be a fast, swinging yorker on their pads and he would still get their wicket.

I don't think there is anything necessarily wrong with being that kind of a bowler. If you look at the 2023 World Cup, he picked up most of his wickets at the backend of the innings when batters tried to go after him. But like I said, there's a difference between being that type of a bowler and being a pace spearhead that strikes fear in the hearts of batters when he has that shiny new ball in this hands.

I hope he heals and returns back to being his old self.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

He seemed to have bowled well in the last two matches? but I’ve not watched ball by ball. I thought he still carried the Pak attack in the WC as well and his ranking doesn’t surprise me. I think if he is still worried about his knee then it would be better he takes some time out to fully heal but that will never happen in Pakistan, the next best option would be for him to turn into a guy who uses variation and cutters, especially on most surfaces with no assistance. Not a lot of people agree with this but I think having Amir in the set-up relieves the pressure off the other bowlers and if they tone down the ego he can help them become more savvy with the white ball.

But yes, you are completely right about the healing part. This guy has played alot of cricket in the past couple of years. Alot of unnecessary matches too like meaningless bilateral T20s against minnows and the C teams of other countries. Even after the injury he sustained in the T20 WC final he was rushed back.

We can't keep treating our fast-bowlers like donkeys that are just there to mindlessly keep bowling and bowling and then expect them to be at full fitness. Too many talented Pakistani fast-bowlers have been wasted like this. And the sad part is that we don't even realize it.

In this day and age, where the workload management of fast-bowlers has evolved so significantly where every ball they might potentially bowl is counted, there is no excuse for running your fast-bowlers into the ground.

 

[iPakistani]

Such an overreaction regarding Shaheen's performances.

The guy got ran into the ground when he first started playing for Pakistan, ofcourse his body will start breaking down earlier.

Regardless of this during his 'worst' run of form over the last 2 years he's averaged 22 in ODIs and 16 in T20Is. If this was any other bowler they'd be getting best in the world shouts.

He has been pretty bad in tests but then again he's only played 6 tests in the last 2 years, with 2 of these being played on absolute roads.

He's a top bowler and will go down as one of Pakistans best ever.

 

[shaz619]

But yes, you are completely right about the healing part. This guy has played alot of cricket in the past couple of years. Alot of unnecessary matches too like meaningless bilateral T20s against minnows and the C teams of other countries. Even after the injury he sustained in the T20 WC final he was rushed back.

We can't keep treating our fast-bowlers like donkeys that are just there to mindlessly keep bowling and bowling and then expect them to be at full fitness. Too many talented Pakistani fast-bowlers have been wasted like this. And the sad part is that we don't even realize it.

In this day and age, where the workload management of fast-bowlers has evolved so significantly where every ball they might potentially bowl is counted, there is no excuse for running your fast-bowlers into the ground.

They are starting to rest him a bit more now but he needs an extensive rehabilitation supported by the PCB, but the board wont implement that and players are less inclined to take time away from the game due to fear of losing their place; it’s short sighted from both ends

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

They are starting to rest him a bit more now but he needs an extensive rehabilitation supported by the PCB, but the board wont implement that and players are less inclined to take time away from the game due to fear of losing their place; it’s short sighted from both ends

Bro, this board wasn't even willing to pay for his hotel room and plane ticket when he got injured. They are just a bunch of nepo hire fat cats trying to hold on to their jobs and fill their coffers. They neither care about our cricket, nor fully understand it. I am actually less willing to blame players here because if there was actually a plan in place, you could say something. But there is no plan or vision here.

 

[TheSultan]

I saw Shaheen's bowling in the famous WT20 2021 game against India and bowling in the first ODI vs Australia (2024). I'm no bowling expert but it is clear that biomechanically at least Shaheen's body is not in the same place.

Instantly the first thing you notice is that his right leg (injury one) used to plant very adjacent to his run up. It was not perfect but it was straight to the naked eye. Because of it his body was more upright. His release point was also near perfect. That also assisted with the swing and speed.

Now a days his right leg is not being planted straight as forcefully as it used to. He collapses a bit before planting and releasing the ball. The right leg is planted more to the right side which in turn also opens his body a bit more. That doesn't allow Shaheen to make the straight bend completely and stay upright. I suspect the release point might also be early because of it.

All in all I think the biggest problem with his bowling and action is that he is protecting his knee. Consciously or subconsciously.

This is exactly what Abdul Rauf said on his video

 

[DeadlyVenom]

You can see the difference with your naked eye when you watch Shaheen bowl and then Harris bowls the next over.

He is a shadow of himself when it comes to pace but to his credit is still bowling with control and discipline which can help get wickets in ODIs.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Akif Javed has a much higher ceiling than Shaheen. Beautiful bowler.

His jump and action reminds me of Zaheer Khan.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Whether we like it or not, Shaheen's rhythm looks much more improved. His line and length have been nice in these 2 games.

 

[shamaan]

Management need to manage his workload.

 

[Bewal Express]

Good analysis. This is something alot of people have said ever since he came back from injury. That he is holding back to protect his knee. On one hand I can understand it, on the other hand it's just sad to see. He had everything it took to be a generational talent prior to his injury. Now he looks like a shadow of his former self even when he is taking wickets.

I saw the wickets but did he not look the part?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I saw the wickets but did he not look the part?

This more of a general comment rather than a comment at today's performance. To be clear, I am not criticizing him. I just think he is not the same bowler that was prior to his injury, who seemed destined for greatness.

 

[Mamoon]

He has bowled quite well in this series. I don’t care what he clocks on the speed gun as long as he is bowling in the right areas and taking wickets.

If Shaheen’s pace is gone for good, it’s a shame but so be it. You can still be successful bowler without hitting 90 mph.

Shaheen is one of Pakistan’s greatest and if he didn’t have the injury in 2022, which wouldn’t have happened if PCB didn’t rush him back in time for the World Cup, he would have ended up as the third best pacer in Pakistan history after Wasim and Imran.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Management need to manage his workload.

yeah he needs a break of at least 10 years lol

 

[topspin]

He has bowled quite well in this series. I don’t care what he clocks on the speed gun as long as he is bowling in the right areas and taking wickets.

If Shaheen’s pace is gone for good, it’s a shame but so be it. You can still be successful bowler without hitting 90 mph.

Shaheen is one of Pakistan’s greatest and if he didn’t have the injury in 2022, which wouldn’t have happened if PCB didn’t rush him back in time for the World Cup, he would have ended up as the third best pacer in Pakistan history after Wasim and Imran.

As long as he's not more than a few years older than his official age, he's still got time by his side.

 

[shamaan]

yeah he needs a break of at least 10 years lol

Hes still taking wickets.

 

[TheSultan]

The wickets are all deceptive, fortuitous wickets. Most are due to batsmen mistakes. We’ve seen in tests (when you actually need to force the wickets), he becomes toothless.

I saw Shaheen's bowling in the famous WT20 2021 game against India and bowling in the first ODI vs Australia (2024). I'm no bowling expert but it is clear that biomechanically at least Shaheen's body is not in the same place.

Instantly the first thing you notice is that his right leg (injury one) used to plant very adjacent to his run up. It was not perfect but it was straight to the naked eye. Because of it his body was more upright. His release point was also near perfect. That also assisted with the swing and speed.

Now a days his right leg is not being planted straight as forcefully as it used to. He collapses a bit before planting and releasing the ball. The right leg is planted more to the right side which in turn also opens his body a bit more. That doesn't allow Shaheen to make the straight bend completely and stay upright. I suspect the release point might also be early because of it.

All in all I think the biggest problem with his bowling and action is that he is protecting his knee. Consciously or subconsciously.

As I said this is the same analysis as Abdul rauf’s video verbatim.

One thing missed in this analysis is that his jump is more of a skip than a proper jump. His back leg does not quite get in front his lead leg during the jump. This is quite an inefficient jump for pace. He had this issue before his injury too. You can still bowl quick with it if everything else is close to perfect (which it pretty much was prior to injury). You also need very strong hip muscles and robust front knee. but now as you say with his landing leg also coming outside his hip, it really limits how much force he can exert on the ball.

He needs some time to get back to basics and work out what his action needs to be for him to be a world class bowler again. He needs to be brave enough to rehabilitate properly. Take a year out. Fix your action, rehabilitate the knee.

Some people will be happy with his current mediocre returns. I’m not - we need an improved Shaheen back. Unless the batsmen make mistakes he looks like cannon fodder.

 

[Hyder]

He still has thet seam that swing that line but all he needs is his pace back. Because his swing becomes lethal at 140s instead of low 130s

 

[BouncerGuy]

Shaheen has definitely looked like he has made some tweaks to his bowling. He might not be pacey, but he surely is getting his line and length right, which is very important. He is not back to his best yet but he surely is on the right track. Forget about captaincy, forget about batting, and rattle those stumps SHAHEENAA