Faheem has the legendary batting average of 23 and he has 11 wickets in 7 Test innings.
Shadab's bowling average is nearly 40 in Tests.
Yes they have performed........terribly.
With respect, that makes no sense. No sense at all.
Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan are both Horses For Courses Test players, because as I will now demonstrate, Yasir Shah is generally hopeless outside Asia, while Shadab Khan is considerably better.
Performances in the West Indies are irrelevant, as Pakistan doesn't play them in the WTC.
So let's compare the bowling - and batting - of Yasir Shah in the places where Pakistan must play:
1. In England and Ireland
YASIR SHAH:
19 wickets in 4 Tests, average 40.73
92 runs in 4 Tests at an average of 15.33
SHADAB KHAN:
7 wickets in 3 Tests, average 34.43
171 runs in 3 Tests at an average of 42.75
2. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
YASIR SHAH:
9 wickets in 6 Tests, average 95.11
81 runs in 6 Tests at an average of 9.00
SHADAB KHAN:
4 wickets in 1 Test, average 20.00
52 runs in 1 Test at an average of 52.00
These numbers are absolutely shocking, damning even.
They show that in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa Yasir Shah is absolutely hopeless with both bat and ball.
Pakistan don't have to tour South Africa in the World Test Championship, but Yasir Shah's dismal record there this January - when he achieved a quarter as much in 2 Tests as Shadab Khan did in 1 Test - proves that he cannot be taken to Australia this November.
For the record, this is what Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan each achieved in South Africa in January 2019:
Yasir Shah in South Africa 2018-19:
4-0-24-0
7.4-1-20-1
21-1-79-0
4, 0, 5, 5
Shadab Khan in South Africa 2018-19
10-2-39-1
11.3-0-41-3
0, 52 not out.
But more to the point, I have to question what you mean when you write "Shadab's bowling average is nearly 40 in Tests".
What on earth do you expect?
Players like Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill and Anil Kumble who can average under 30 as a Test leg-spinner are as a rare as hen's teeth.
Far more often leggies average well into their thirties:
Abdul Qadir averaged 32.80.
Mushtaq Ahmed averaged 32.97
Intikhab Alam averaged 35.95.
Shadab Khan averages 38.83...….but he also averages 34.28 with the bat after 5 Tests.
What exactly do you want?
Outside Asia, your spinner is usually a fourth innings specialist, and in the other three innings of the game he plays almost as a specialist batsman and fielder who can give the quick bowlers a rest.
That's why Daniel Vettori played 113 Tests.
Vettori only averaged 34.36 with the ball. But he also scored 4531 Test runs at an average of 30.
Again, you need to decide what you want from your Test spinner outside Asia.
Yasir Shah has a bowling average of 95.11 in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. And you mock Shadab Khan averaging 38!
What I want from my spinner outside Asia is this. I want him to play 50 Tests and take 100 wickets at an average of 38-40, but also score 2000 runs at an average of 35.
I repeat, outside Asia is this was my choice:
Option A: 50 Tests outside Asia, 150 wickets at an average of 32, 500 runs at an average of 10.
Option B: 50 Tests outside Asia, 100 wickets at an average of 38, 2000 runs at an average of 35.
I would take Option B every time. Yes, he might be slightly less effective on the final day at Lords or The Oval compared with Option A. But he is not going to be a complete liability at Brisbane, Christchurch, Hamilton, Melbourne, Johannesburg and Cape Town like Yasir Shah was.
