Mohammad Asif, former Pakistan pacer said that the current crop of Pakistan pacers haven’t exhibited enough control in line and length and have been guilty of spraying the ball down the leg-side far too often.
The 38-year-old pacer reckons that the current bunch of Pakistan fast bowlers are older than what their age suggests. Mohammad Asif, who last appeared for Pakistan back in 2010, stated that the youngsters who are aged about 20 or more on paper appear 10 years older.
Mohammad Asif: Pakistan’s Young Pacers Don’t Have Flexibility To Bowl 20-25 Overs And Don’t Know How To Bend Body
Currently, pacers Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Muhammad Musa Khan are the ones who are in their early or late 20s. Mohammad Asif feels they don’t have the ability to bowl long spells.
Mohammad Asif said that they appear aged and don’t have the flexibility to bowl 20-25 overs while speaking to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal on the latter’s YouTube channel.
“And they are so aged. It is written as 17-18 years on paper, but they are actually 27-28 years old because they don’t have the flexibility to bowl 20-25 overs.”
“They don’t know how to bend the body; they become stiff. They are not able to stand on the field after bowling a 5-6 over spell,” Mohammad Asif stated.
Shaheen Afridi has taken 39 wickets in 12 Tests, Mohammad Musa is yet to pick a wicket in 1 Test he played and Naseem Shah has picked 20 wickets in 8 Tests. Mohammad Hasnain has played 6 ODIs and 10 T20Is.
Mohammad Asif: It Might Have Been 5-6 Years Since A Pacer Took 10 Wickets In A Test Match
Mohammad Asif said that the current pacers had difficulties to pick up wickets at regular intervals and have been found wanting even in seamer-friendly conditions. The 38-year-old quipped that the paces haven’t exhibited enough control while bowling and have sprayed the ball down the leg-side far too often.
“I feel it might have been 5-6 years since a fast bowler took 10 wickets in a match. We used to salivate after seeing the pitches like the ones in New Zealand. There was no question of leaving the ball as a fast bowler. I never used to leave the ball before taking a five-wicket haul,” he stated.
“These kids do not have the knowledge. They don’t know how to keep the batsman on the front foot, not give them a single and how to bowl on the wickets. When they try to bowl on the wickets, it goes down the leg-side. They do not have the control,” Mohammad Asif added.
Though Mohammad Asif’s career was short-lived due to his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal at the Lord’s, he picked 106 wickets from 23 Tests and was somewhat effective in the longest format. Also, in 38 ODIs and 11 T20Is, the speedster picked up 46 and 13 wickets respectively.