"Yes, I had rhythm to my bowling before, but it's come back now": Shaheen Shah Afridi

[BouncerGuy]

Shaheen Shah Afridi speaking during the Pakistan vs New Zealand 5th T20I post-match presentation:

When asked a question about getting his old bowling rhythm back:

"Yes, I had a rhythm to my bowling before, but it's come back now. Whatever is happening is good for the team. The effort is always to strike whenever I get the ball and try to take wickets. My goal is to give 100 percent, whether it’s batting, bowling, or fielding. I strive to do my best for my team in whatever department I get a chance.”

When asked a question about his bowling plans during the game:

“When the New Zealand team was bowling, the ball was keeping a bit low. The more you hit on the length, the more the ball can stay a bit low, and you can get a chance to get a wicket. I stuck to this plan to bowl as much length as possible, which is why we succeeded.”

When asked about his preference between yorker or slower ones:

“In the last two overs, if the ball is reversing, I try to mix up my bowling. This strategy can deceive the batter, but the yorker is the best ball in every format.”

When asked about not being able to take a 5-wicket haul:

“I regret that I could not get the fifth wicket, but my effort is that even if one wicket helps in the team’s victory, then it is the best."​

 

[Rana]

Let’s see this rhythm against England

Butler
Salt
Jacks
Bairstow
Brooks
Livingstone
Malan
Moeen
Curran

They will really check your rhythm

 

[Rana]

Butler
Salt
Jacks
Bairstow
Brooks
Livingstone
Malan
Moeen
Curran

All of these batsmen be like: “Zara idhar ao Shaheen apna rhythm check karwao”

 

[mominsaigol]

Butler
Salt
Jacks
Bairstow
Brooks
Livingstone
Malan
Moeen
Curran

All of these batsmen be like: “Zara idhar ao Shaheen apna rhythm check karwao”

I don't get how he can confidently say he has his rhythm back.

In 2019 he could bowl 141 to 145 clicks and that unplayable inswing. He was a gun new ball bowler but a medicore middle and death over bowler.

Currently he's more so a medium pacer who has a decent length but tends to over pitch and like faheem ashraf, his line and length does get exposed eventually.

 

[Rana]

I don't get how he can confidently say he has his rhythm back.

In 2019 he could bowl 141 to 145 clicks and that unplayable inswing. He was a gun new ball bowler but a medicore middle and death over bowler.

Currently he's more so a medium pacer who has a decent length but tends to over pitch and like faheem ashraf, his line and length does get exposed eventually.

Probably still shocked at being removed from captaincy after 1 series. Hard to think straight. Needs to say things to keep reminding people of his importance to Pakistan’s success.

He’s a broken man now

 

[ExpressPacer]

He is a shadow of the bowler he once was …but he’s still the best bowler in the current setup. He could get back to where he once was but he really needs to figure out what happened to his pace.

That says a lot about our current stocks.

 

[Sycamore]

Meh this is all lip service. Shaheen didn't realise the YouTube stream was on, and Zainab asked him casually " Kya haal Hai Bhai" he replied " bohat thak Gaya hoon" as in "I am very tired ".

Furthermore as he said, the break after PSL and with Eid, these players just give up all diet and fitness plans. Hence it takes them alot longer to get fitness levels back up. They really should be monitored in off season also, as Pakistani players themselves are clearly incapable. Especially the bowlers.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Meh this is all lip service. Shaheen didn't realise the YouTube stream was on, and Zainab asked him casually " Kya haal Hai Bhai" he replied " bohat thak Gaya hoon" as in "I am very tired ".

Furthermore as he said, the break after PSL and with Eid, these players just give up all diet and fitness plans. Hence it takes them alot longer to get fitness levels back up. They really should be monitored in off season also, as Pakistani players themselves are clearly incapable. Especially the bowlers.

There’s definitely something more at play than diet considering his reduced overall pace. He wasn’t at least in the early 130s in the last game but still not quick enough to trouble the worlds best like he used to be.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I hope he regains his pace, swing and form soon and starts adding new skills to his armory. At his best, he is the best all format pacer we have currently.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

His pace has increased a bit surely he is enjoying bowling again and hoping that he will carry this rhythm into the World Cup.

 

[pakistani pride]

His pace has increased a bit surely he is enjoying bowling again and hoping that he will carry this rhythm into the World Cup.

What was his pace like?
I mean at least they can/should be able to bowl 140 plus in 2 spells of 2 overs!

 

[mominsaigol]

He is a shadow of the bowler he once was …but he’s still the best bowler in the current setup. He could get back to where he once was but he really needs to figure out what happened to his pace.

That says a lot about our current stocks.

Best pacer or bowler as a whole?

If its pace, then I'd agree, if it's the entire dugout, Abrar is miles ahead. Abrar as a spinner spins the ball and has variation whole shaheen as a pacer isn't really quick and doesn't swing as much as he use to. He also overpitches more now.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

What was his pace like?
I mean at least they can/should be able to bowl 140 plus in 2 spells of 2 overs!

he was 145 kmph+ bowler and if he is fit enough now so he must get his pace back, atleast be consistent with 140s throughout his spell.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Top 10 in the last ODI WC. He needs to do better than this.


And can I just say only 1 Pakistani in this list? An Indian bowler leading?

 

[BouncerGuy]

In the latest ICC ranking update, Shaheen Shah Afridi has moved up three spots and is now tied for 14th place. This is due to his performance of taking eight wickets in four matches against New Zealand.

 

[Mamoon]

A fit and firing Shaheen is the third greatest Pakistani fast bowler in history after Wasim and Imran.

He is better than Waqar, Akhtar, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Fazal, Asif, Amir, Gul etc.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Guys, you should refrain from any personal stuff.

 

[shaz619]

He is a shadow of the bowler he once was …but he’s still the best bowler in the current setup. He could get back to where he once was but he really needs to figure out what happened to his pace.

That says a lot about our current stocks.

Could he be bowling with himself to after the injuries and need to be fit for franchise cricket ? also could be the workload in general, other top pacers may have had better rest and/or not played as many games

 

[emranabbas]

A fit and firing Shaheen is the third greatest Pakistani fast bowler in history after Wasim and Imran.

He is better than Waqar, Akhtar, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Fazal, Asif, Amir, Gul etc.

Man, where do you discover these gems?

You can't maintain a test average of 37 against AUS, ENG, NZL, and SA.

He's merely a glorified crusher of minnows.

 

[Mamoon]

Man, where do you discover these gems?

You can't maintain a test average of 37 against AUS, ENG, NZL, and SA.

He's merely a glorified crusher of minnows.

Shaheen would average 19/20 if he were to bowl in the 80s and 90s with the type of doctored balls that made Waqar's career. He is a better fast bowler than all the names I mentioned and he would outperform them if they played in the same team. Only Imran and Wasim were better than him.

 

[Savak]

A fit and firing Shaheen is the third greatest Pakistani fast bowler in history after Wasim and Imran.

He is better than Waqar, Akhtar, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Fazal, Asif, Amir, Gul etc.

Don't think so. Rohit Sharma has him figured out completely. That inswinger which caught Rohit off guard in 2021 is now easy work for Rohit, Shaheen has no other weapon up his sleeve, he can't pitch the ball in the same spot like Wasim Akram and get the ball to move both ways, his bouncer is non existent, he goes around the wicket to the right hander very easily from the beginning after the first over with the new ball and with the old ball.

Even Wasim Akram in the Pavilion was frustrated by the lack of development in Shaheen's bowling and stated that he now has to stop aiming that full blooded inswinger, yorker to the right hander early on in his innings or going around the wicket to the right hander because it is no longer a novelty, batters are not dumb, great players make adjustments and get used to your bowling. He also mentioned that Shaheen needs to work on developing other varieties in his bowling for e.g. a back of the hand slower ball, knuckle ball, every batter knows he bowls his slower delivery with a left arm spinners action.

Shaheen had definately improve his bowling from 2019 to 2021 but he has since 2021 remained stagnant and not really developed other tricks. All great bowlers have evolved and adapted to opposition counter plans against them.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Hopefully it remains the same during the T20 WC 2024 too.

 

[mominsaigol]

Shaheen would average 19/20 if he were to bowl in the 80s and 90s with the type of doctored balls that made Waqar's career. He is a better fast bowler than all the names I mentioned and he would outperform them if they played in the same team. Only Imran and Wasim were better than him.

Gul in 2013 while burnt out took 5 wickets for 6 runs against an all star south African team, that team in 2013 was superior to their 2016/2017/2018/2019 units with even quinton being in solid knick.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Shaheen should be bowling his best in the upcoming series against England. Nothing better than bringing your A-game couple of days before the world cup (WITHOUT GETTING INJURED). Shaheen could be our trump-card in this world cup if he gets going. The only thing that worries me is his death bowling against a good batter. This is where he lacks.

 

[Mamoon]

Gul in 2013 while burnt out took 5 wickets for 6 runs against an all star south African team, that team in 2013 was superior to their 2016/2017/2018/2019 units with even quinton being in solid knick.

Gul was exceptional in T20s, but Shaheen is comfortably superior as an all-format bowler.

 

[Mamoon]

Don't think so. Rohit Sharma has him figured out completely. That inswinger which caught Rohit off guard in 2021 is now easy work for Rohit, Shaheen has no other weapon up his sleeve, he can't pitch the ball in the same spot like Wasim Akram and get the ball to move both ways, his bouncer is non existent, he goes around the wicket to the right hander very easily from the beginning after the first over with the new ball and with the old ball.

Even Wasim Akram in the Pavilion was frustrated by the lack of development in Shaheen's bowling and stated that he now has to stop aiming that full blooded inswinger, yorker to the right hander early on in his innings or going around the wicket to the right hander because it is no longer a novelty, batters are not dumb, great players make adjustments and get used to your bowling. He also mentioned that Shaheen needs to work on developing other varieties in his bowling for e.g. a back of the hand slower ball, knuckle ball, every batter knows he bowls his slower delivery with a left arm spinners action.

Shaheen had definately improve his bowling from 2019 to 2021 but he has since 2021 remained stagnant and not really developed other tricks. All great bowlers have evolved and adapted to opposition counter plans against them.

This is an exaggeration and I personally don’t listen to Wasim because he never offers any solution, he only criticizes and wants easy money. He never wants to put himself in a position where he can be held accountable.

If you are in a position to help but you don’t, no one needs to listen to you.

As far as Rohit vs Shaheen is concerned, Rohit is a top opener and Shaheen is a top bowler. When they play each other, sometimes Rohit will dominate and sometimes Shaheen will dominate. It is normal.

Shaheen cleaned him up only two innings ago in the first Asian Cup game and now two games later, he has figured him out because he scored runs? That’s nonsense.

First Rohit couldn’t play Shaheen and now Shaheen cannot bowl to him. Both are exaggerations. Pakistan and India don’t play enough so whenever they play, people look too much into the individual battles.

Rohit vs Shaheen is no different than Rohit vs any top bowler in the world. Rohit has scored runs against everyone and pretty much all these top bowlers have dismissed him as well.

If Pakistan and India were to play regularly, both Rohit and Shaheen will do well against each other. It all depends on who does better on a given day.

People are too obsessed with pushing the “XYZ got figured out” agenda or “ABC cannot play him” etc. They don’t mean anything.

 

[mominsaigol]

Gul was exceptional in T20s, but Shaheen is comfortably superior as an all-format bowler.

Okay then why bring it up? This is t20 season so what was your point? Why bring it up in a t20 thread about t20 bowlers?

 

[emranabbas]

Gul was exceptional in T20s, but Shaheen is comfortably superior as an all-format bowler.

We seen shaheen waqar akram shah afridi not long ago in the world up 23

Bro couldn't get a wicket vs newzealand, srilanka, Afghanistan and Netherlands

 

[Mamoon]

Okay then why bring it up? This is t20 season so what was your point? Why bring it up in a t20 thread about t20 bowlers?

So what if it is T20 season? Are we only allowed to talk about T20s if it is the T20 season?

 

[Mamoon]

We seen shaheen waqar akram shah afridi not long ago in the world up 23

Bro couldn't get a wicket vs newzealand, srilanka, Afghanistan and Netherlands

If Waqar played in the 2023 World Cup, he would have produced Haris Rauf type numbers.

 

[mominsaigol]

So what if it is T20 season? Are we only allowed to talk about T20s if it is the T20 season?

if you want to remain on topic, Shaheen hasn't even surpassed 2009 Amir, In terms of tournaments, Wahab in 2015 and 2011 was superior to this bozo.

Fit and firing shaheen got exposed to quality sides in 2019

 

[emranabbas]

If Waqar played in the 2023 World Cup, he would have produced Haris Rauf type numbers.

Most of the stuff you post is based on your personal opinion not facts you portray your self as a big cricketing brain but nothing is based on facts

 

[mominsaigol]

Most of the stuff you post is based on your personal opinion not facts you portray your self as a big cricketing brain but nothing is based on facts

He doesn't have any facts, not will he, just look at Pakistan vs Australia 2019.

A fit and firing Shaheen which 2019 is his best yesr btw got outperformed by Amir in 2019 who's not the same Amir from 2009.

I said it time and time again, these are just attention seeking stunts from him. Nothing more then trollish behaviour.

 

[Savak]

This is an exaggeration and I personally don’t listen to Wasim because he never offers any solution, he only criticizes and wants easy money. He never wants to put himself in a position where he can be held accountable.

If you are in a position to help but you don’t, no one needs to listen to you.

As far as Rohit vs Shaheen is concerned, Rohit is a top opener and Shaheen is a top bowler. When they play each other, sometimes Rohit will dominate and sometimes Shaheen will dominate. It is normal.

Shaheen cleaned him up only two innings ago in the first Asian Cup game and now two games later, he has figured him out because he scored runs? That’s nonsense.

First Rohit couldn’t play Shaheen and now Shaheen cannot bowl to him. Both are exaggerations. Pakistan and India don’t play enough so whenever they play, people look too much into the individual battles.

Rohit vs Shaheen is no different than Rohit vs any top bowler in the world. Rohit has scored runs against everyone and pretty much all these top bowlers have dismissed him as well.

If Pakistan and India were to play regularly, both Rohit and Shaheen will do well against each other. It all depends on who does better on a given day.

People are too obsessed with pushing the “XYZ got figured out” agenda or “ABC cannot play him” etc. They don’t mean anything.

"They cannot play him" to "They cannot wait to play him", isn't that how you were mocking him during the Asia ODI Cup and ODI WC in 2023?

Anyways, Shaheen has been exposed as a one trick pony and off late he hasn't looked world class at all against top teams. Rohit will be fully switch on against Shaheen's inswinger and i don't think Shaheen has any other trick up his sleeve. He doesn't have Bolt's discipline to pitch 6 out of six deliveries on the same spot and to get the ball to do something different.

 

[mominsaigol]

2009 Amir murks shaheen, Gul even in 2013 burnt out was superior.

Shaheen hasn't even surpassed wahab riaz in tournaments.

 

[mominsaigol]

Shaheen would average 19/20 if he were to bowl in the 80s and 90s with the type of doctored balls that made Waqar's career. He is a better fast bowler than all the names I mentioned and he would outperform them if they played in the same team. Only Imran and Wasim were better than him.

He wouldn't because shaheen can't stop overpitching 24/7. Nothing you can do with those so called doctored balls if your length is all over the place.

First tell shaheen to learn how to bowl in the right area 6 out of 6 times. Then ompare him to the bowlers you mentioned.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Shaheen looked improved in the home series. His swing was more controlled and his line and length also looked like he had worked on it. We will be more sure when he bowls against Ireland and England batters specifically. England can give him a hard time because their batters are very destructive. Let's see what Shaheen has in his bag of tricks.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Could he be bowling with himself to after the injuries and need to be fit for franchise cricket ? also could be the workload in general, other top pacers may have had better rest and/or not played as many games

It could be possible but I genuinely think that his pace has gone down considerably from his peak. Maybe he’s just peaked and that was it. Kinda like Ishant Sharma

 

[shaz619]

It could be possible but I genuinely think that his pace has gone down considerably from his peak. Maybe he’s just peaked and that was it. Kinda like Ishant Sharma

I hope not and there’s a way to get that yard of pace back, wonder what @Ian Pont thinks

 

[cricketmania22]

Shaheen Afridi has failed to develop. He looked very promising for the first couple of years but since 2022 he has gone downhill. He has lost his pace (due to injury or whatever) and has failed developed to develop variety in his bowling. Also, he lacks brains. He doesn’t read the batsmen or the game well.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Shaheen talks a lot and puts unnecessary pressure on himself.

 

[jnaveen1980]

It could be possible but I genuinely think that his pace has gone down considerably from his peak. Maybe he’s just peaked and that was it. Kinda like Ishant Sharma

Don't think he is an all format guy anymore. He will probably phase himself out in Tests. It requires nice repeatable action and ability to bowl all day. He can be good in T20 as he just has to bowl 4 overs. He can give it all.