Jason Gillespie exposes Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah Haris Rauf in front of the world
Published - 28 Feb 2025, 03:12 PM | Updated - 28 Feb 2025, 03:21 PM
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Former Pakistan white-ball coach Jason Gillespie has given his two cents on the struggles of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf, as these world-class pacers’ failure to deliver in the crunch moments played a key role in the team’s early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Pakistan’s feared pace attack, featuring Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf, has been considered the backbone of the team, but they are now facing a serious crisis. The pace bowling trio has been struggling to make an impact when it matters most.
Jason Gillespie explains why Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf struggle to deliver
Shaheen, Haris, and Naseem have often been expensive and ineffective, raising questions about their approach and execution. Reacting to their struggles, Jason Gillespie has acknowledged their talent but emphasized the need for improvement in death-over execution and defensive bowling strategies.
The former Pakistan coach has pointed out that the trio have dominated in favorable conditions, but they struggle to contain wickets and control the run flow when the pitch offers little assistance. The inconsistency in closing out overs has been a glaring issue, with opposition batters exploiting their failure to adapt on the batting-friendly pitches.
Given that, the former Australian pacer advised Shaheen, Haris, and Naseem to execute their defensive plans smartly in the death overs to overcome their challenges on the batting-friendly surfaces. However, the former coach still feels they are the fantastic bowlers.
They are fantastic bowlers: Jason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie was quoted as saying by Times of India, “They are fantastic bowlers. All the players have little things they can improve on. When the conditions suit them, they are fantastic. When the conditions are more batting-friendly, they still bowl well; they just need to close out overs a little bit better by executing their defensive plans.”
Meanwhile, Gillespie was really impressed with the way Mohammed Shami made a comeback at the highest level after a long injury layoff. Shami missed the international actions for more than one year but managed to make a stunning comeback in the recent home series against England.
But the seasoned pacer showed the real glimpses of his form in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where he took a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh. However, Shami went wicketless against Pakistan in the CT 2025 group match in Dubai.
Jason Gillespie hails Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah
Gillespie said, “Shami is a fantastic bowler. I'm not surprised that he has done well after coming back from injury. He is a world-class performer. Rana looks to be a good talent.”
The legendary Australian pacer also hailed Jasprit Bumrah’s performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia as one of the best by a fast bowler since the legendary New Zealand all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee’s iconic tour in 1985-86. Bumrah was the Player of the Series for taking 32 wickets in just four matches of the five-match Test series in Australia.
Gillespie signed off by saying, “Bumrah had the best tour of Australia by a fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee in 1985-86. He got over 50% of India's wickets and bowled really well, displaying pace, accuracy, and skills in seam and swing.”
