Why do Pakistani pacers lose their pace so quickly after a promising start to their careers?

[Savak]

Excessive T-20 cricket, our bowlers lack discipline when it comes to their life style, eating habits, training routines, insufficient 4 day cricket.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Excessive T-20 cricket, our bowlers lack discipline when it comes to their life style, eating habits, training routines, insufficient 4 day cricket.

Story of all ages of Pakistan cricketers.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

In next 2 to 3 years he will bowling around 120 kmph

https://twitter.com/x/status/1953921463330775158

 

[BreadPakoda]

In next 2 to 3 years he will bowling around 120 kmph

https://twitter.com/x/status/1953921463330775158

He’s gone through injuries and hardly ever skips a game.

 

[AZulfi]

Because of false ages, injury and marriage.

You lose pace as you get older, and our players are atleast 3-5 years older than what they have mentioned officially. Thus, when they come in the team, they are actually 25 years old, and its always after the 5 year mark they start to lose their pace.

Also, recovering from injury isnt that easy. Pakistani players dnt have access to good health care as easily as someone in Australia does. Also, the guys want to make money and play through injury whichh we saw Naseem do by continuing to play leagues.

Marriage also plays a role. These guys came from poor backgrounds, never had an AC to cool themselves. As they earn money they start enjoying life as they start to get what they never had. The training becomes less, especially after marriage.

Alot of people critisize the team for eating habits, but alot of people dont know, once upon a time thesse guys never had access to such foods till their 20s.

I think 5 is a bit of an exaggeration (? the odd case), 2-3 years 'dandi' more like it. You can easily and safely guess whether someone is 17 or 22 years old. However, it is quite hard to determine a person's age as 17 or 19 based on appearance alone

 

[Deewana Mastana]

I think 5 is a bit of an exaggeration (? the odd case), 2-3 years 'dandi' more like it. You can easily and safely guess whether someone is 17 or 22 years old. However, it is quite hard to determine a person's age as 17 or 19 based on appearance alone

So Shaheen is 28 instead of 25 and Naseem 25 instead of 22?

 

[AZulfi]

So Shaheen is 28 instead of 25 and Naseem 25 instead of 22?

It did not say it applies to everyone.

 

[LordJames]

Because of false ages, injury and marriage.

You lose pace as you get older, and our players are atleast 3-5 years older than what they have mentioned officially. Thus, when they come in the team, they are actually 25 years old, and its always after the 5 year mark they start to lose their pace.

Also, recovering from injury isnt that easy. Pakistani players dnt have access to good health care as easily as someone in Australia does. Also, the guys want to make money and play through injury whichh we saw Naseem do by continuing to play leagues.

Marriage also plays a role. These guys came from poor backgrounds, never had an AC to cool themselves. As they earn money they start enjoying life as they start to get what they never had. The training becomes less, especially after marriage.

Alot of people critisize the team for eating habits, but alot of people dont know, once upon a time thesse guys never had access to such foods till their 20s.

I think its down to lack of training, laziness and inability to put in the hard yards.

I understand that many of these players come from poor backgrounds and once they emerge on the International scene there is nothing stopping them getting private consultancy on diet/fitness etc.

There are many pacers who didn't have a significant drop in pace beyond 30 and maintained their longevity even beyond mid 30s.

A person can be totally unfit for 20+ years of their life (they are not unfit but not super fit but taking the extreme scenario), change their lifestyle and then go onto maintain it for at least another decade at the fitness required to deliver 2nd and 3rd session intensity
​

 

[Major]

I think 5 is a bit of an exaggeration (? the odd case), 2-3 years 'dandi' more like it. You can easily and safely guess whether someone is 17 or 22 years old. However, it is quite hard to determine a person's age as 17 or 19 based on appearance alone

1-2 year is very normal and done by registering late. 5 is not an exaggeration, people get 5 done.

1 - 2 is done at birth, by delaying the registeration. 5 is done later. Because later, when you get the source to get your age reduced, you dont go for 1 or 2, you go for the bigger number.

Zeeshan Malik, Mohammad Nawaz these guys are known for reducing their age by 5.

 

[Major]

I think its down to lack of training, laziness and inability to put in the hard yards.

I understand that many of these players come from poor backgrounds and once they emerge on the International scene there is nothing stopping them getting private consultancy on diet/fitness etc.

There are many pacers who didn't have a significant drop in pace beyond 30 and maintained their longevity even beyond mid 30s.

A person can be totally unfit for 20+ years of their life (they are not unfit but not super fit but taking the extreme scenario), change their lifestyle and then go onto maintain it for at least another decade at the fitness required to deliver 2nd and 3rd session intensity
​

it is that, but alot of it is due to age.

For example, Fakhar Zaman is 35 years old and is most probably his real age because he served in Navy. So dont be surprise if he decides to retire.

Other 35 year olds are 40 year olds pretending to be 35

 

[LordJames]

it is that, but alot of it is due to age.

For example, Fakhar Zaman is 35 years old and is most probably his real age because he served in Navy. So dont be surprise if he decides to retire.

Other 35 year olds are 40 year olds pretending to be 35

The discussion is here is pacers losing pace with age and I am saying that there are plenty of examples of pacers 30+ maintaining pace around the world and not losing much.

Even if Shaheen & Naseem are 5 years older then what is declared they should not be losing pace and it is down to nothing but laziness and inability to put in the hard yards.

At 40, it would be difficult to maintain pace and rigors of International sports

 

[Deewana Mastana]

I've previously addressed this too on a few occasions that over the years there are a few factors that are causing this in Pakistan.

One of the most common reasons fast bowlers lose pace is due to injury. In Pakistan, there's often a lack of proper injury prevention and rehabilitation infrastructure. Bowlers are rushed back into action without adequate recovery time, leading to chronic issues and a natural drop in pace to avoid re-injury.

Moreover, the domestic structure has historically lacked consistent sports science and dietary support. Young fast bowlers often bowl long spells without monitoring, which leads to stress injuries; particularly in the back and knees, both crucial to maintaining pace.

Many young bowlers rely heavily on their natural ability and raw strength rather than a structured physical development plan. As their bodies mature and the demands of international cricket increase, the lack of foundational strength training starts to show.

Pakistan has historically unearthed bowlers from tape-ball or street cricket backgrounds, which emphasise speed and aggression but rarely teach bowling mechanics or injury prevention.

Also the players carry on playing with niggles or some sort of injury without adequate treatment or rest just so that they don't lose their place in the side even if they can't perform to a standard.

This reliance on raw pace and talent is exciting at first but often unsustainable. Without proper nutritional diet, refinement and poor biomechanics lead to quicker physical breakdowns and the need to go back on speed to survive.

 

[Greenstorm]

Simple answer; because of T20 leagues. Hardly any of our pacer lost pace whose initial career was in pre T20 league era. Sami, Wahab, Gull never really lost pace (until they got old) and even Amir was bowling at 145+ on his return in 2016 but then he started playing league cricket.

T20 is a disease that destroys fast bowlers and our poor management accelerate that process.

An example is Ali Raza who is the most exciting young fast bowler in Pakistan. He came through a system (age group cricket) and has done well in FC. His length is ideal for longer formats and we should be preparing him for overseas tests and 2027 WC. But what have they done ? He wasn't even selected in Pakistan Shaheen's squad for tour of England probably because of poor PSL ! You are giving him the message; perform in T20s if you want a career. Now Ali Raza will focus on ten types of cutters, wide yorker type rubbish that is never going to win us a 50 over WC or a Test series. Instead of bowling 15-20 overs a day on consistent line and lengths, he will be focusing on bowling 4 overs with ten thousand variations. And just like that, another potential world class bowler is lost.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Shaheen bowled with better pace today in 1st ODI but yeah, Both Naseem and shaheen are not operating at the pace they were before.

 

[pakistani pride]

In next 2 to 3 years he will bowling around 120 kmph

https://twitter.com/x/status/1953921463330775158

Shocking.
And then when you hear them talk.
This sorry lot should stick to bowling 4 overs in PSL.

 

[shamaan]

It did not say it applies to everyone.

So why does it apply to him ?

 

[Snowflake]

Shaheen bowled with better pace today in 1st ODI but yeah, Both Naseem and shaheen are not operating at the pace they were before.

Better pace? He was struggling to hit 135.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Better pace? He was struggling to hit 135.

he started around 140, surely better than Naseem but yep, his has become a medium pace bowler now...

 

[sweep_shot]

I think it is due to T20 affect. They seem to focus more on franchise T20 cricket and it ruins their bowling.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Does Ali Raza have some injury? Why is he being ignored for the Shaheens’ tours?

 

[shamaan]

Does Ali Raza have some injury? Why is he being ignored for the Shaheens’ tours?

Should have been in the squad.

 

[Ball Blazer]

I think because most of them start featuring across all formats, more focused on leagues, and then start to struggle, followed by injuries.

 

[Ball Blazer]

Does Ali Raza have some injury? Why is he being ignored for the Shaheens’ tours?

No injury. In a release, Imran Farhat said only selection committee could answer this and the squad is chosen out of the players' list provided by the committee.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Shaheen has so many strappings and what not around his elbow. He also, since his knee injury has changed his release stance slightly to not put more pressure on that knee. Small things matter.

 

[kron]

It’s not that they can’t do well.

They choose to avoid playing tests and instead focus on t20 leagues for easy cash.

Play first class cricket and build the stamina for long formats. Things will automatically change.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

@Saj @MenInG this is a very interesting question, we are laymen and don't know the answer to it, but it is a recurring trend for all our powers post Shoaib. Please can you ask @Ian Pont in his next interview ( apologies if it has already been covered by him)