Right ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Pakistan's bowling legend Waqar Younis has raised concerns about the performance of Pakistan's fast bowlers in the first Test against Australia. He noted that key pacer Shaheen Afridi failed to make an impact in the first Test as his tearaway speed too couldn't pose any threat to the Australia's star-studded batting line-up. Pakistan's ineffective bowling led to a hefty 360-run defeat in the opening Test of the three-match series against Australia.
Speaking as an expert on ESPN’s Around the Wicket show, Waqar questioned the absence of pace in Pakistan's bowling attack during the first Test in Perth. He said that, so far in the series, he has observed a lack of genuine speed among the Pakistani bowlers.
“Another thing that I’m worried about is that always when we come to Australia, one thing that excites is the fast bowling and this time around I’m not seeing that,” Waqar said.
The bowling great pointed out that Pakistan's fast bowlers used to consistently bowl at 150 kmph, which they are lacking in current times. He also voiced his worries about the scarcity of fast bowlers emerging from Pakistan's domestic cricket scene.
“I’m seeing medium-pacers or slow-medium-pacers, allrounders, there’s no real pace. People used to come and watch Pakistan pace bowlers really running in hard and bowling 150 clicks [kph], and that’s what I’m not seeing there.”
“That’s my worry and issue because I have not seen it at the domestic level also. There are a few injured, I can understand, but in the past you would always see a battery of fast bowlers that they could always bring on, but unfortunately that is not there and I’m really worried about that,” Waqar added.
Pakistan's star speedster Naseem Shah has been sidelined for several months with a shoulder injury, causing him to miss the 2023 ODI World Cup. Meanwhile, Haris Rauf has stepped away from Test cricket to play for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.
With Naseem and Rauf unavailable, Pakistan's hopes are pinned on Shaheen Afridi's performance. However, Afridi, once known for his ability to overwhelm batters with his speed, has recently seemed less effective. In the first Test against Australia, he finished with bowling figures of 2/172.
Waqar expressed concern about Afridi's reduced pace. He noted that Afridi used to bowl at speeds between 145-150 kmph, but recently his pace has dropped, and he's achieving very little swing. This, according to Younis, is impacting Afridi's ability to take wickets.
“I’m not really sure what’s wrong with him. If he’s not fit, if he’s got some issues, he needs to go away from the game and fix that because if you are going to carry on like that you are going to become a medium-pacer. He used to bowl 145-150kph and used to swing that ball. What I’m seeing now, yes there’s a little bit of swing but his pace is way down… and that is not going to get him wickets,” Waqar further added.
“Watching the first Test match was painful. We had moments, we had opportunities where we could have pulled the game back a bit but we didn’t take the opportunities. When Pakistan come to Australia they have to make sure their fielding is spotless… because Australia batsmen, if you give them opportunities, they’ll take it with both hands and make it big and that’s what we saw in Perth,” the 52-year-old concluded.
Meanwhile, Pakistan and Australia will lock horns with each other in the Boxing Day Test which is scheduled to start from December 26.
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