PAK vs AUS: "Not Sure What's Wrong With Him" - Waqar Younis Concerned About Shaheen Afridi

Former Pakistani pacer and coach Waqar Younis has questioned Pakistan’s pace attack for their dismal performance during the first Test match of the AUS vs PAK series. Pacer Shaheen Afridi was not able to leave any impact and his pace also declined throughout the match.

Waqar Younis, who was on ESPN’s Around the Wicket show as an expert, stated where was Pakistan bowlers’ pace during the first AUS vs PAK Test match.

Waqar Younis tears into Pakistani pace attack

Younis said that he has not seen any real pace in Pakistan bowlers in the series till now. Waqar Younis said, “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.”

The bowling great mentioned that earlier Pakistan pacers used to bowl 150 kmph consistently but this is not the case anymore. He further expressed his concerns over the lack of fast bowlers in the domestic circuit of Pakistan.

“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.”

Pakistani pacer Naseem Shah has been out of action for the last few months due to a shoulder injury and he was also not able to feature in the 2023 ODI World Cup. While Shah, was ruled out due to an injury, pacer Haris Rauf opted out of Test cricket and is currently playing for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.

In the absence of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, Pakistan will want Shaheen Shah Afridi to perform. However, Afridi, who used to dismantle the opposition batsman with his pace, has become an ordinary bowler in recent days and ended the first AUS vs PAK Test match with figures of 2/172.

Waqar Younis was also concerned about his decline in pace and stated that he didn’t know what was wrong with him. Younis added that Afridi used to bowl 145-150 kmph but he is seeing that his pace has declined and is getting very little swing due to which he is not getting wickets.

Waqar Younis said, “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.”