For once, the inswinging yorker on Sunday which rattled Rohit Sharma’s stumps had brought back memories of that T20 World Cup clash in 2021, a game Team India wouldn’t like to recall. That initial burst, four years ago, during which Shaheen Shah Afridi knocked over Rohit and KL Rahul, laid the foundation for Pakistan’s emphatic 10-wicket victory.
The venue — Dubai International Stadium — was the same. The script that panned out, though, was completely different.
Even such a snorter of a delivery couldn’t be the impetus for Shaheen or the other Pakistani bowlers to exert pressure on the Indian batsmen. During the times of greats
like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, such wicket-taking deliveries would go on to turn the tables on Pakistan’s opponents on several occasions.
But last Sunday, their bowling spearhead Shaheen kept on dishing out over-pitched stuff, pitching it on the arc of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli as they had no problems in driving them one after another.
Pakistan’s trump card since 2020, the left-arm speedster’s form has spiralled parlously, especially over the last couple of years. Yes, his spate of injuries starting from the freak ligament injury he had sustained in July 2022, hurt him badly. Of course, such injuries make the comeback extra tougher particularly for a fast bowler.
But how come a genuinely talented bowler lost his sting and is unable to lift his game even after bowling such a splendid yorker to get rid of a world-class batsman? So far in the ongoing Champions Trophy, the 24-year-old has been clobbered for 142 runs in his 18 overs with only two wickets to show.
“He came back far too early for the Australia tour since he was Pakistan’s premier bowler and they had to play him. Since then, the most unfortunate part is that due to the calendar which is so tight, he hasn’t been able to play first-class cricket.
“One of his major plus points was with the new ball which comes back into the right-hander, but at the moment, he seems to have lost that. He can bowl that, but
not at will any longer,” Pakistan’s former batting all-rounder Musdassar Nazar told The Telegraph from Dubai on Tuesday.
Mudassar had spent some time with Mohammad Rizwan and Co. during their training on the eve of the India game. But his encouraging
words had no bearing whatsoever on Shaheen or on the other quicks.
“I think it’s got something to do with Shaheen’s wrist positioning. But first and foremost, he needs to play first-class cricket and have a good number of overs behind him. The same goes with the other fast bowlers too. His legs
are not strong enough at the moment, which is why he is struggling more from his second spell.
“My advice to him is, ‘Go back to bowling 20-25 overs a day even if you have to let go of one or two franchise (T20) tournaments. For longevity and to fulfil the potential you have, you need to go back to first-class cricket and then come back stronger,’” Mudassar, who represented Pakistan in 76 Tests and 122 ODIs, emphasised.
‘Unfit, rigid’
Fitness has been a problem for Shaheen, particularly since mid-2022. And it has grown into a bigger problem as neither he nor the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have been able to solve it.
“Precisely, all three quicks — Shaheen, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf — are still not 100 per cent. Poor shows in an ICC tournament are bound to happen if you play despite not being fully fit.
“Their current fitness levels can work only in T20s. But in the shortest format too, they are ineffective during their second spells in most cases,” a PCB insider said.
“The bigger problem is the PCB not having a steady medical head, who can track and monitor the players’ fitness. Someone can be appointed on an interim basis, but there’s no steady medical head here at the PCB, unlike how the system is in India’s National Cricket Academy and the other stronger cricketing nations.”
What makes Shaheen’s task tougher is his “rigid” attitude. “He’s quite rigid about what he wants to do while bowling. He doesn’t listen to the captain or the head coach,” the insider added.
