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The cupboard is really that bear

For decades, Pakistan's cricket team was famed for having premium fast bowlers. That means the 1992 ODI World Cup winners would have some of the best...

ayyaz_malik 2 min read · 2 months ago

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For decades, Pakistan's cricket team was famed for having premium fast bowlers. That means the 1992 ODI World Cup winners would have some of the best fast-bowling talent in the world. In the present day, though, their current batch of fast-bowling talent in the test arena looks bleak.

Sure, they have Shaheen Shah Afridi, but the man hasn't been anywhere near his best since the early to mid-20s. In fact, the Lahore Qalandar captain has had some drop off.

Shaheen can't do it in the longer format, I argue. The Pakistani think tank apparently agrees with me, as Afridi has been dropped for the second test against Bangladesh.

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His replacement, Khurrum Shazhad, was amongst the wickets. But the rest of the attack looks so flat. Of course, gone are the days of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, but what's concerning is that the PSL is supposed to unearth some gems, yet it hasn't as of yet.

Abdullah Fazal from the Rawalpindiz appears to be one player who looks set for a promising future, just like Azan Awais, but both of these talents are batters. Mohammed Ali and Mir Hamza are other players who can, and maybe should, be considered for the test circuit, but both are over 30 years old.

Even with the spinners. As talented and skilled as he is, is 39-year-old Nouman Ali really the way to go? Sajid Khan, the off-spinner who rose to prominence after impressing in Bangladesh during Pakistan's last tour. At 32, though, he won't be around forever.

Sufyan Muquim, for example, the left-arm spinner who has impressed in the shorter format, has never been talked about in the longer format. That's Pakistan's problem; they have put so much emphasis on the shorter formats.

In T20 and ODIs, for example, I argue that the men in green possess a wealth of talent. Risking sounding like I am obsessed with the team of the early 20's, that period in Pakistan's history was a good time. The 2009 World T20 winners had a talented bowling pool, an array of talent.

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Their ability could be transferred across formats, which is a far cry from the current times. It depends on whether Pakistan think it's a problem, but if you're a pure fan like I am, then yes, it is an issue.