Pakistan in search of perfect fast bowling combination

Once upon a time there was a country famous for his fast bowlers who ruled the world for decades. Facing them in the field was a nightmare for every batsman of the world.

Unfortunately, now the same country is in search of a fast bowler for last decade who could at least create some impression in the cricketing world.

Yes, we are talking about Pakistan, who once was the king of fast bowling. Starting from Fazal Mehmood it produced the greatest fast bowlers in the cricket history.

Lethal Bowling duo of Sarfraz Nawaz and Imran Khan mesmerised the world with their reverse swing bowling. Sarfraz is, undoubtedly, the first one who utilised the old cherry to make it reverse swing both ways. Legendary bowler Imran Khan took this art to the level of excellence. He earlier with Sarfraz and later with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis destroyed almost all the batting line-ups of his time.

Two Ws, Wasim and Waqar are undisputedly the best bowling pair the world has ever witnessed. Wasim Akram was the more versatile of the two and could make wonders with new and old ball. Waqar was not far behind as he was the quickest bowler in his early days and then later in his career, he took the responsibility of opening the bowling making the new ball to move both ways.

Pair of Shoaib Akhter and Muhammad Sami was also once the fastest in the world, who could deliver the whole over above 90 miles per hour. Umar Gul and Rana Naveed ul Hassan also contributed in the field of fast bowling.

In the later years of the first decade of the current century, Pakistanis once again started hoping that they have once again found Waqar and Wasim in the shape of Muhammad Amir and Muhammad Asif. But unfortunately, they destroyed their careers due to the menace of spot fixing. Asif is regarded as the most complete bowler Pakistan has ever produced. Pakistan’s greatest captain and legendary fast bowler Imran Khan once declared Asif the greatest bowler of new ball.

“He is phenomenal as he can move the ball both ways with one action, in the air and off the pitch, as well” Imran Khan further elaborated.

 

In the last decade, there is only one Pakistani bowler who could manage to complete century of wickets in the Test cricket and that is Muhammad Amir. Hardly, four bowlers could manage to complete the half century of wickets. He along with Wahab Riaz has already announced retirement from the Test cricket. Rahat Ali and Junaid Khan could not cement their place in the first eleven due to inconsistent performance in the longer version of the cricket.

      

Now Pakistani are once again in a rebuilding process. New players are being given the chance in the national team to find out a perfect bowling combination. Once again a young bowling attack is playing under the coaching of Waqar Younis.

Muhammad Abbas is the bowler who, definitely, has shown talent and consistency in the Test cricket and made a place in the top ten ranking of the Test bowlers. Greatest fast bowler of South Africa Dale Steyn has also acknowledged the skills of Abbas by saying that he could top the world ranking in the future.

Naseem Shah is a new bowling sensation who has made the mark by grabbing a Test hat-trick in the age of just 16 years. He is the youngest bowler to achieve this landmark.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has also started creating problems for the oppositions by using his speed and bowling skills. Cricket lovers in Pakistan has once again started hoping that these bowlers would carry the responsibility of fast bowling in the coming years and the country will be able to find new fast bowling greats in them.