Ok fine.
The main criticism over Sadaf has been his
pace which is considered not high enough for international cricket. Now, every time you watch him in a different video including the one in the link above (or hear from acquaintances who have watched him play in Rawalpindi grounds), you are inclined to think that this criticism is somewhat valid. And since Pakistan is likely to play most of its matches in UAE, lack of pace is not going to help him.
The Grays ball which is predominantly being used in domestics (apart from odd experiments with Kookaburras), and the pitches which we forced to transmute about 10-12 years ago, make some of the bowlers look world beaters. The ball (apart from having soft leather which along with its thick seam starts tearing apart after 20-25 overs) is notorious for conspicuous exaggerated swing and seam. So domestic stats of pacers (also helped by ineptness of our batsmen), even if remarkable, don't particularly excite me.
Let me make it clear that I actually like his action which is a proper side-on action, unlike others these days who have mixed actions. Head is in line with the hips and uses his non-bowling arm well (lifts it high and stay tall enough to use his height well). And he effortlessly bowls closer to the stumps
.
And considering the dross we have got at international level, I wouldn't mind giving opportunities to the top domestic performers like him or Abbass. Despite the fact that some other performers like Asad Ali and Ehsan Adil have looked mediocre at international level. It's just that his speed never helps my doubts.
