Is Shaheen Shah Afridi now at the start of the peak period in his career?

[Sher Khan]

He seems to be on top of his bowling at the moment. He was always a world class bowler, but mashaAllah now he seems a genuine wicket taking option in all formats.

Every world class bowler goes through a phase where they look genuinely on top of their game. We have seen it with Rabada bowling SA to a series victory in Australia a few years back.

Of course as a Pakistani fan I genuinely hope Shaheen stays fit and in form to play for a number of years for Pakistan. But do you think he has now entered the peak of his career?

[Rana]

He is mentally 13 years old but one quality he does have is the ability to fight for his team when they are up against the ropes. Genuine wicket taker when he is fully focussed and his team needs him to produce something special

I’m hoping for him to open the bowling tomorrow and snap up a couple more in the first spell

[Ashmal]

Not yet....but he's certainly maturing as a bowler.

He's only gonna get better with experience

[Bewal Express]

SSA strength is attacking stumps this means that the Captain must make sure square leg is back from the start and he isnt fearful of conceding runs. Although i havent seen him in this test, in NZ he was bowling on or outside off stump and the NZ batsman were playing him with ease. He must be encouraged to attack middle and leg and then the one that goes straight on will take the edge

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

Tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing


Averages against bottom teams

WI/ 11.27
ZIM/ 16.4
BAN/ 16.8
SL/ 23.2
SA/ 27.3

Averages against top teams
AUS/ 36.8
NZ/ 43.7
ENG/ 51.6


Against top teams AUS, ENG and NZ (excluding India as they don’t play), he averages 44.00

Against bottom teams, he averages 18.7

That’s some significant minnow bashing there

[sweep_shot]

He seems to be at the top of his game.

But, his real test should be against SENA teams in SENA countries.

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

In 2022 he’s gonna play 7 matches against ENA. If he does well against them then we can say he has improved, if not it’s just pure minnow bashing and nothing else

[James]

He is prodigiously talented, particularly when he gets it swinging in to right-handed batters which is a rare skill. He will have success against SENA imo.

[ChTab]

In 2022 he’s gonna play 7 matches against ENA. If he does well against them then we can say he has improved, if not it’s just pure minnow bashing and nothing else

Probably 8 matches, if I'm not wrong. 3 vs Aus, 3 vs Eng & 2 vs NZ.

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

Probably 8 matches, if I'm not wrong. 3 vs Aus, 3 vs Eng & 2 vs NZ.

Yes you’re right

[shamaan]

Tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing


Averages against bottom teams

WI/ 11.27
ZIM/ 16.4
BAN/ 16.8
SL/ 23.2
SA/ 27.3

Averages against top teams
AUS/ 36.8
NZ/ 43.7
ENG/ 51.6


Against top teams AUS, ENG and NZ (excluding India as they don’t play), he averages 44.00

Against bottom teams, he averages 18.7

That’s some significant minnow bashing there

Home or away stats ?

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

Home or away stats ?

Both. Tbh he has only played one test against ENA at home (vs NZ in 2018). That was his debut test match if I am not wrong

[shamaan]

He isn't at his peek yet.he needs to perform against Australia and New Zealand and needs to improve on the ball moving away.

[PakPremi]

The question was is he at peak now, not when he played ENA teams. I believe he is still has quite a bit to learn and adapt to but he is producing some good results against the teams he is played this year. Looks to ha e huge potential to be atleast Pakistani great

[Giannis]

He's only 21, your peak as a bowler goes from 24-30

[Savak]

He has been forced into being the leader of this attack at the tender age of 21 thanks to Amirs retirement.

His pace and swing and strength has definitely improved compared to 2018-19. Will be excited to see him at around 24-25 when bowlers are actually at their peak

[ElRaja]

no, hes still got significant room for improvement, namely consistency and perhaps if he could bowl cutters it couldn complement his inswinger well.

what he desperately needs is a good spinner, otherwise i see him being ground down trying to fill overs for rubbish spinners on dead pitches.

fast bowlers tend to flourish when they hve a spinner they trust at the other end.

[street cricketer]

He is yet to enter his peak. He has the potential to become the best bowler in the world. We haven't seen the best of him in Test cricket yet.

[Bewal Express]

He's only 21, your peak as a bowler goes from 24-30

He probably is around 24

[RedwoodOriginal]

Nope. He is capable of much, much more.

Its wonderful seeing him develop but I think we need to give him a bit more time to hone his skills. I find it very hard to believe how he won't be the best in the world after a certain point. Because he has all the tools to become that.

[PakEngFan]

He probably is around 24

He’s 23 at a stretch. No way 24. Seems like we have age experts here too.

[shah_1]

He needs to perform against bigger teams in test cricket.

[sindhiboy]

No he is still developing.
he could be pretty menacing at his peak.

his real test in test matches is gonna come soon when aus, nz and eng tour pakistan.


he needs to be taken care of properly to ensure he doesnt get any major injuries

[kingusama92]

His peak is yet to come.

There's a lot of natural strength and consistency to be gained as Shaheen grows older. I would imagine his peak will come when he's 23-26.

[Bewal Express]

He’s 23 at a stretch. No way 24. Seems like we have age experts here too.

Most of our guys are around 3 years older than claimed. If he is as claimed then he will be one of the few. Shadab is 4 years older

[Bewal Express]

He needs to perform against bigger teams in test cricket.

He will do, just needs to attack the stumps. He will go for more runs but will get good batsman out.

[Haseebster]

In 2022 he’s gonna play 7 matches against ENA. If he does well against them then we can say he has improved, if not it’s just pure minnow bashing and nothing else

I agree that if he performs well against England and Australia, it will definitely be a sign of improvement. Is that the only criteria for improvement though? Anyone that's been watching Shaheen bowl since the beginning of his career will be able to tell that he's a lot more threatening now, get a lot more movement. No need to over-simplify the situation into yes/no.

[GoUgandaCranes]

I so want to keep him away from the abomination that T20 cricket is as it'll destroy his basics. T20 should be played by bowlers like Rumman Raees, who are highly skilled at bowling slower cutters, back of the hand slower ball, slow loopy bouncers, wide off stump yorkers, etc; bowling 145+ in T20 where a batter can casually scoop you over fine leg is the perfect recipe for killing the confidence of a genuine fast bowler.

He's unique in our system because we rarely get tall bowlers and he has that box checked. His spell against New Zealand in the 2019 world cup is the perfect template for him to copy in both 50 over cricket and test cricket. The board should compensate him for not playing useless league cricket as he's a diamond in the rough and should be used like how Australia has used Cummins in the recent past.

Shaheen, Arshad, and Akif are three tall bowlers that should be developed into test specialists and be paid heavily for that. We really need to win tests in Australia and to a certain extent, South Africa to give our cricket some credibility and dignity and these guys can help us achieve this holy grail.

[Savak]

If he can add an outswinger with the new ball which he can control at will and can learn to reverse swing the ball both ways he will be a formidable force.

He has improved tremendously since 2018. His pace is up by 10 km/hr, he has developed a sharp rising heavy bouncer, he has developed a pacy late inswinger with the new ball. Has plenty of room to further develop

[globalcitizen]

The signs are there regarding his improvement. His big test will be SeNA as well as tests where they don't get early break through. So he needs to come back spell after spell with an old ball

[WhenSultansBowled]

His best is yet to come. He should keep on working on his skills. 85-90mph is ideal pace for him.

Should stay away from T20 crap and focus on Tests/ODIs.

[Unbiased-Fan]

He is certainly improving day by day. But, i can't recall any of his good performance against big teams. Currently his numbers are highly impressive only because of playing more matches against Windies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

[Kroll]

He is mentally 13 years old but one quality he does have is the ability to fight for his team when they are up against the ropes. Genuine wicket taker when he is fully focussed and his team needs him to produce something special

I’m hoping for him to open the bowling tomorrow and snap up a couple more in the first spell

Hmmm, started sulking when Hasan dropped his catch in the semis and proceeded to lose his composure. Yes once he matures a bit more, potential to be the real deal.

[Bullet Drive]

He is certainly improving day by day. But, i can't recall any of his good performance against big teams. Currently his numbers are highly impressive only because of playing more matches against Windies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

3 wickets vs India? Forgot?

[MenInG]

Pakistan paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi was subjected to cruel taunts from the Chattogram crowd throughout the first Test against Bangladesh – but the left-arm quick responded in fine fashion.

Whenever Afridi was near the boundary at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Sunday, Bangladesh fans were overheard chanting “Matthew Wade”, a harsh reminder of the Australian’s T20 World Cup semi-final heroics.

Watch every ball of India‘s Test Series with New Zealand Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >

Wade smacked three consecutive sixes in the penultimate over of the thrilling run chase against Pakistan earlier this month, helping Australia secure its place in a T20 World Cup final for the first time in 11 years.

Afridi was the luckless bowler at the other end.

Pakistan were unbeaten during the Super 12 stage of the T20 tournament, comprehensively defeating favourites India by 10 wickets to send an early warning to the rest of the competition.

Afridi claimed three wickets during the triumph over their subcontinent rivals, but the cricket world has a short attention span, and his T20 World Cup campaign will forever be remembered for that one fateful over in the semi-final.

Bangladesh’s cricket fans couldn’t resist rubbing salt into the wounds whenever the left-arm quick was within earshot – but Afridi got the last laugh.

The 21-year-old claimed three wickets late on day three to leave the hosts reeling at 4/39 at stumps.

In the fifth over of Bangladesh’s innings, Afridi trapped opener Shadman Islam LBW before knocking over No. 3 batter Najmul Hossain Shanto two deliveries later.

He returned after the drinks break to remove Saif Hassan for 18 as well, giving him stellar figures of 3/6 off six overs.

Afridi has taken 42 Test wickets at 17.66 in 2021, equal with Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for most in the calendar year.


Most Test wickets in 2021

42 – Shaheen Shah Afridi (PAK)

42 – Ravichandran Ashwin (IND)

38 – Hasan Ali (PAK)

32 – Axar Patel (IND)

32 – James Anderson (ENG)

Bangladesh will resume on day four with a lead of 83 and six wickets in hand – Mushfiqur Rahim and debutant Yasir Ali are unbeaten overnight on 12 and 8 respectively.

Earlier in the first Test, Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam claimed his ninth five-wicket haul while Pakistan’s Abid Ali hit a century – the fourth of his Test career.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/c...17b2eeebce7eee

[Romali_rotti]

I believe his peak is now, he is at least 26-28 years old imo.. However it is unfortunate Pakistan is not getting any quality oppositions for him to prove himself..

[street cricketer]

Pakistan paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi was subjected to cruel taunts from the Chattogram crowd throughout the first Test against Bangladesh – but the left-arm quick responded in fine fashion.

Whenever Afridi was near the boundary at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Sunday, Bangladesh fans were overheard chanting “Matthew Wade”, a harsh reminder of the Australian’s T20 World Cup semi-final heroics.

Watch every ball of India‘s Test Series with New Zealand Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >

Wade smacked three consecutive sixes in the penultimate over of the thrilling run chase against Pakistan earlier this month, helping Australia secure its place in a T20 World Cup final for the first time in 11 years.

Afridi was the luckless bowler at the other end.

Pakistan were unbeaten during the Super 12 stage of the T20 tournament, comprehensively defeating favourites India by 10 wickets to send an early warning to the rest of the competition.

Afridi claimed three wickets during the triumph over their subcontinent rivals, but the cricket world has a short attention span, and his T20 World Cup campaign will forever be remembered for that one fateful over in the semi-final.

Bangladesh’s cricket fans couldn’t resist rubbing salt into the wounds whenever the left-arm quick was within earshot – but Afridi got the last laugh.

The 21-year-old claimed three wickets late on day three to leave the hosts reeling at 4/39 at stumps.

In the fifth over of Bangladesh’s innings, Afridi trapped opener Shadman Islam LBW before knocking over No. 3 batter Najmul Hossain Shanto two deliveries later.

He returned after the drinks break to remove Saif Hassan for 18 as well, giving him stellar figures of 3/6 off six overs.

Afridi has taken 42 Test wickets at 17.66 in 2021, equal with Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for most in the calendar year.


Most Test wickets in 2021

42 – Shaheen Shah Afridi (PAK)

42 – Ravichandran Ashwin (IND)

38 – Hasan Ali (PAK)

32 – Axar Patel (IND)

32 – James Anderson (ENG)

Bangladesh will resume on day four with a lead of 83 and six wickets in hand – Mushfiqur Rahim and debutant Yasir Ali are unbeaten overnight on 12 and 8 respectively.

Earlier in the first Test, Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam claimed his ninth five-wicket haul while Pakistan’s Abid Ali hit a century – the fourth of his Test career.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/c...17b2eeebce7eee

Oohh.. That's spicy from the Bangla fans

Shouldn't have ruffled Shaheen's feathers

[Manzy2599]

Tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing


Averages against bottom teams

WI/ 11.27
ZIM/ 16.4
BAN/ 16.8
SL/ 23.2
SA/ 27.3

Averages against top teams
AUS/ 36.8
NZ/ 43.7
ENG/ 51.6


Against top teams AUS, ENG and NZ (excluding India as they don’t play), he averages 44.00

Against bottom teams, he averages 18.7

That’s some significant minnow bashing there

Lol South Africa aren’t minnows they’re just going through a rebuilding phase and both the tests they lost in pak weren’t as one sided as the scorelines suggested. One more partnership and they would’ve made that test interesting on the last day. They were also unlucky to miss out on a semi final spot in the T20 World Cup aswell.

Even Sri Lanka at home aren’t minnows... they beat Aus, Eng, Sa and Pak at home on their last tours and gave NZ a fight with a draw.

Shaheens numbers aren’t as good vs Aus/Eng and NZ cause he’s only played them in 1 series each as a youngster and it was his first time in different conditions and this was when he was forced to bear the pressure of the bowing attack leader by Misbah when Amir and Wahab retired before the Australia tour. The whole bowling attack was horrible in that series to be fair.

He will be good on his next tours against the bigger teams cause he has played a decent amount of cricket all around the world in the last few years. I’m sure he’ll be the pick of the bowlers in SENA conditions too. He knows his strengths and Waqar isn’t there anymore to ruin youngsters early in their careers.

[OmarKhan99]

I believe his peak is now, he is at least 26-28 years old imo.. However it is unfortunate Pakistan is not getting any quality oppositions for him to prove himself..

It's almost impossible for the facial structure to change or mature like Shaheen's has if he was in the age bracket that you proposed. Much like Hasnain, I believe Shaheen is truly 21.

Just look at the pictures of Shaheen from when he burst on the scene (2017) and compare him to now. That's a genuine 17 year old maturing to a 21 year old (or very close to it).

[street cricketer]

A lot of Pak players are probably older than what their records show but don't think Shaheen is one of those. He looks genuine for his age.

[Unbiased-Fan]

3 wickets vs India? Forgot?

I'm talking about tests..

[Sycamore]

Not even close to his peak.

man still doesn't know how to swing the ball away. Once he learn to the swing it both ways then batsmen are going to be in a heap of trouble.

As for the usual crowd claiming him to be over age, you have to know the background of each player before such ridiculous stuff.

Shaheen's brother is a former cricketer, thus it would easily known if SHaheen was over age, also not to mention the fact that NADRA has been getting better/more stricter for guys from KPK due to illegal afghanis, thus age fudging is considerably harder.

[MenInG]

4th time Shaheen Afridi has taken 5 or more wickets in a Test innings. 5-32 earlier today are his second best figures in a Test innings #BANvsPAK #Cricket pic.twitter.com/zMB1VpH7Zv

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) November 29, 2021

[Manzy2599]

Not even close to his peak.

man still doesn't know how to swing the ball away. Once he learn to the swing it both ways then batsmen are going to be in a heap of trouble.

As for the usual crowd claiming him to be over age, you have to know the background of each player before such ridiculous stuff.

Shaheen's brother is a former cricketer, thus it would easily known if SHaheen was over age, also not to mention the fact that NADRA has been getting better/more stricter for guys from KPK due to illegal afghanis, thus age fudging is considerably harder.

Agree with this Shaheen actually looks like he is in the early 20s so 21 seems correct. People are thinking about the previous Shahid Afridi era where age fudging was common. I believe that 90% of the current Pakistan squad are their correct ages, we already know Shoaib Malik is 3 years older than what’s listed and there might be a few others but the majority are fine. Look at the Afghanistan team though with Rashid claiming to be 23 while he is actually 9 years older as per Nadra’s database. They also lie about their birthplaces trying to hide their Pakistani identities.

Nadra might be getting strict on people in KPK but they are still very incompetent like the rest of the government. I was applying for a NICOP ID last month as I am a NZ born overseas Pakistani and the whole process was an absolute nightmare. I had given all the correct details and they called me several times in the middle of the night (4am) for a “interview” where they asked dumb questions I had already answered. To sort it out they asked for my login details (username and password) so they could fix it from “their end”. Which government agencies do that!?! I told them there was an 8 hr time difference but they called me at 4am again the next day...

Then on my nicop card they missed out my fathers surname and put my grandfathers first name. I don’t think they understood that in the west the surname is passed on and you don’t just put your fathers/spouses first name as your surname..... Absolute shambles, took over a month to sort out!!!!

[mastimasti]

Tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing


Averages against bottom teams

WI/ 11.27
ZIM/ 16.4
BAN/ 16.8
SL/ 23.2
SA/ 27.3

Averages against top teams
AUS/ 36.8
NZ/ 43.7
ENG/ 51.6


Against top teams AUS, ENG and NZ (excluding India as they don’t play), he averages 44.00

Against bottom teams, he averages 18.7

That’s some significant minnow bashing there

Wow, bit harsh don't you think?

The guy hasn't even played test cricket for 3 years yet, only has 19 matches under his belt.

Not sure how SA is a minnow exactly
WI and SL are hardly minnows either, maybe you don't know what that term means.

He has already played 8 matches against NZ/Eng/Aus at such a young age in a relatively weak away test side (Pakistan). In terms of his peak, it will likely arrive at 25-30 as it does for most fast bowlers, so he hasn't even bowled at his best at them.

In terms of the thread, Shaheen has a long way to go, both in terms of physicality and skill before he reaches his peak. 25-20 is usually an athletes peak, especially for fast bowlers. He still has to develop a better away swinger and a better ability to bowl with the older ball. This will take time but the skies the limit!

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

Wow, bit harsh don't you think?

The guy hasn't even played test cricket for 3 years yet, only has 19 matches under his belt.

Not sure how SA is a minnow exactly
WI and SL are hardly minnows either, maybe you don't know what that term means.

He has already played 8 matches against NZ/Eng/Aus at such a young age in a relatively weak away test side (Pakistan). In terms of his peak, it will likely arrive at 25-30 as it does for most fast bowlers, so he hasn't even bowled at his best at them.

In terms of the thread, Shaheen has a long way to go, both in terms of physicality and skill before he reaches his peak. 25-20 is usually an athletes peak, especially for fast bowlers. He still has to develop a better away swinger and a better ability to bowl with the older ball. This will take time but the skies the limit!

I never said SA is a minnow. Wasted ur time by typing paragraphs, assuming I did. Kindly read and try to comprehend before you type something

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

Lol South Africa aren’t minnows they’re just going through a rebuilding phase and both the tests they lost in pak weren’t as one sided as the scorelines suggested. One more partnership and they would’ve made that test interesting on the last day. They were also unlucky to miss out on a semi final spot in the T20 World Cup aswell.

Even Sri Lanka at home aren’t minnows... they beat Aus, Eng, Sa and Pak at home on their last tours and gave NZ a fight with a draw.

Shaheens numbers aren’t as good vs Aus/Eng and NZ cause he’s only played them in 1 series each as a youngster and it was his first time in different conditions and this was when he was forced to bear the pressure of the bowing attack leader by Misbah when Amir and Wahab retired before the Australia tour. The whole bowling attack was horrible in that series to be fair.

He will be good on his next tours against the bigger teams cause he has played a decent amount of cricket all around the world in the last few years. I’m sure he’ll be the pick of the bowlers in SENA conditions too. He knows his strengths and Waqar isn’t there anymore to ruin youngsters early in their careers.

I never said they’re minnows. Kindly read before your type something

[Farabi]

Tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing


Averages against bottom teams

WI/ 11.27
ZIM/ 16.4
BAN/ 16.8
SL/ 23.2
SA/ 27.3

Averages against top teams
AUS/ 36.8
NZ/ 43.7
ENG/ 51.6


Against top teams AUS, ENG and NZ (excluding India as they don’t play), he averages 44.00

Against bottom teams, he averages 18.7

That’s some significant minnow bashing there

So important to use data with proper context.
Shaheen practically debuted FC against these guys at age of 19/20. Series vs Aus and Eng were Shaheen’s first set of first class games because he started with no FC experience behind him.
I think he started to find his feet from SA series and hasn’t really looked back since.
An average of 11 in WI vs WI is an extraordinary performance and SA is not a minnow side. He’s also killing it in Bangladesh currently on pitches not really known for fast bowling.
I’d wait to see how he does in SENA on next visits!

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

So important to use data with proper context.
Shaheen practically debuted FC against these guys at age of 19/20. Series vs Aus and Eng were Shaheen’s first set of first class games because he started with no FC experience behind him.
I think he started to find his feet from SA series and hasn’t really looked back since.
An average of 11 in WI vs WI is an extraordinary performance and SA is not a minnow side. He’s also killing it in Bangladesh currently on pitches not really known for fast bowling.
I’d wait to see how he does in SENA on next visits!

I never said SA is a minnow. Good that u wasted ur time and energy. Should have done some comprehension of what I said

[PakEngFan]

I believe his peak is now, he is at least 26-28 years old imo.. However it is unfortunate Pakistan is not getting any quality oppositions for him to prove himself..

Lol 26 or 28 why stop here why not 36. If he’s 26 -28 then he’s the youngest of that age I have ever seen.

[mastimasti]

I never said SA is a minnow. Wasted ur time by typing paragraphs, assuming I did. Kindly read and try to comprehend before you type something

You said "tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing" then proceeded to list some countries and ranked SA alongside Bang and Zimb...in all honesty, Zimb is the only minnow, but there's a case for Bang too. But his performances against SA, SL and WI are pretty good to exceptional, so not exactly "a lot of" minnow bashing.

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

You said "tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing" then proceeded to list some countries and ranked SA alongside Bang and Zimb...in all honesty, Zimb is the only minnow, but there's a case for Bang too. But his performances against SA, SL and WI are pretty good to exceptional, so not exactly "a lot of" minnow bashing.

Lol now u twisted my words. I said lot of minnow bashing. I didn’t say only minnow bashing. Learn you comprehend. I never said SA is a minnow.

[MesonK]

Indians calling Shaheen Minnow basher will fall on their faces in near future. Shaheen played against top tiers teams when he was still a teenager with rookie skills, he had no 88-94 mph range that he is armed with now, did not have banana swing coming back into the either. So his record against them after single series is what it is. He is obviously going to improve that when he meets them again.

He has performed against SA, WI, BANG in their homes and has wrecked havocs on top orders of top tier teams in LOIs which is a pretty good hint what is going to happen in near future.

[MesonK]

I believe his peak is now, he is at least 26-28 years old imo.. However it is unfortunate Pakistan is not getting any quality oppositions for him to prove himself..

since we going by opinions IMO Kohli is 37 at least which is why his hand-eye coordination is gone and he is averaging like 29-30 now in tests for the past 2+ years.

[MesonK]

Pakistanis have more % of steppe genes because of proximity to Iranic plateau which is why our boys from Punjab, Khyber etc develop robust facial features earlier in age and Indians (indic cline facial development legs behind Iranic) start calling pakistanis age fudgers. lol

One can not compare how boys at 18 will look like in Uttar Pradesh to how same age group boys will look like in FATA.

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

Really good bowling today

[mastimasti]

Lol now u twisted my words. I said lot of minnow bashing. I didn’t say only minnow bashing. Learn you comprehend. I never said SA is a minnow.

I did not twist any words...you said "tbh he had done A LOT of minnow bashing"...I'd be happy to retratc my post if I quoted you as saying "ONLY" minnow sides.

So, keeping the "a lot" in mind...you are completely incorrect. He has played maybe 1 or 2 minnow sides. The majority of his games are against solid to very good test teams.

16 out of 19 completed games to be exact (I have excluded Zimb and Bang, which may be unfair on the latter to label them as minnows, especially at home), and he is averaging 27 with 61 wickets, less than 3 years into his career and only 21 years old.

It's ok, just admit you made a mistake, did not know what minnow meant or were hasty in using cricinfo stats. It's really not the end of the world but to keep claiming that people are twisting your words is ridiculous.

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

I did not twist any words...you said "tbh he had done A LOT of minnow bashing"...I'd be happy to retratc my post if I quoted you as saying "ONLY" minnow sides.

So, keeping the "a lot" in mind...you are completely incorrect. He has played maybe 1 or 2 minnow sides. The majority of his games are against solid to very good test teams.

16 out of 19 completed games to be exact (I have excluded Zimb and Bang, which may be unfair on the latter to label them as minnows, especially at home), and he is averaging 27 with 61 wickets, less than 3 years into his career and only 21 years old.

It's ok, just admit you made a mistake, did not know what minnow meant or were hasty in using cricinfo stats. It's really not the end of the world but to keep claiming that people are twisting your words is ridiculous.

You questioned how is South Africa a minnow? And I never said it, lol. You’re the one who is completely wrong coz u don’t even know how to comprehend. And u accused me of calling South Africa a minnow which I never did, lol. It’s u who need to admit a mistake and lack in comprehension skills not me. It’s insane to have people like u on this forum

[mastimasti]

You questioned how is South Africa a minnow? And I never said it, lol. You’re the one who is completely wrong coz u don’t even know how to comprehend. And u accused me of calling South Africa a minnow which I never did, lol. It’s u who need to admit a mistake and lack in comprehension skills not me. It’s insane to have people like u on this forum

Ok ballu bahi, you clearly can't admit you're mistake so let me just ask you the question.

You said "a lot" of minnow bashing. So how many of the 19 tests he has played were played against minnow sides?

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

I did not twist any words...you said "tbh he had done A LOT of minnow bashing"...I'd be happy to retratc my post if I quoted you as saying "ONLY" minnow sides.

So, keeping the "a lot" in mind...you are completely incorrect. He has played maybe 1 or 2 minnow sides. The majority of his games are against solid to very good test teams.

16 out of 19 completed games to be exact (I have excluded Zimb and Bang, which may be unfair on the latter to label them as minnows, especially at home), and he is averaging 27 with 61 wickets, less than 3 years into his career and only 21 years old.

It's ok, just admit you made a mistake, did not know what minnow meant or were hasty in using cricinfo stats. It's really not the end of the world but to keep claiming that people are twisting your words is ridiculous.

You questioned how is South Africa a minnow? When I did not even say that lol. U need some English language training. It’s pathetic to know that u do not even know the difference between “lot” and “only”

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

Ok ballu bahi, you clearly can't admit you're mistake so let me just ask you the question.

You said "a lot" of minnow bashing. So how many of the 19 tests he has played were played against minnow sides?

Okay u just half minded. You did not answer my question yet. I never said SA is a minnow. You need to answer that

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

I think his biggest challenge will be the 8 matches against ENA.

If he can average <30 and sr <60, it would mean he has really improved and not just doing some minnow bashing

[mastimasti]

Okay u just half minded. You did not answer my question yet. I never said SA is a minnow. You need to answer that

I answered several posts back, please go ahead and read it. I will make it easy for you and paste it here:

"You said "tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing" then proceeded to list some countries and ranked SA alongside Bang and Zimb...in all honesty, Zimb is the only minnow, but there's a case for Bang too. But his performances against SA, SL and WI are pretty good to exceptional, so not exactly "a lot of" minnow bashing."

I'm happy if you don't believe SA are minnows and simply listed them alongside Bang and Zimb.

But we still have my question to answer, as you said "a lot"...yet 16 out of 19 games have NOT being against minnows. So let me repeat dear bahi:

How many matches has Afridi played against minnows?

[Rana]

Hmmm, started sulking when Hasan dropped his catch in the semis and proceeded to lose his composure. Yes once he matures a bit more, potential to be the real deal.

Tbh I don’t really blame him for that

The game was lost in the over before when Hassan bottled it completely. The drop catch was the final nail in the coffin, even Bumrah may not have been able to recover his side from that position

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

I answered several posts back, please go ahead and read it. I will make it easy for you and paste it here:

"You said "tbh he has done a lot of minnow bashing" then proceeded to list some countries and ranked SA alongside Bang and Zimb...in all honesty, Zimb is the only minnow, but there's a case for Bang too. But his performances against SA, SL and WI are pretty good to exceptional, so not exactly "a lot of" minnow bashing."

I'm happy if you don't believe SA are minnows and simply listed them alongside Bang and Zimb.

But we still have my question to answer, as you said "a lot"...yet 16 out of 19 games have NOT being against minnows. So let me repeat dear bahi:

How many matches has Afridi played against minnows?

You did not answer. I said “lot” of minnows, I did not say ONLY minnows. And u asked how is South Africa a minnow? When I didn’t even call them a minnow. Either accept ur mistake or do not quote me

[MenInG]

Shaheen Shah Afridi in Tests in 2021:

Matches 8
Wickets 44
Average of 17.45
Strike-rate 37.30

He's joint-highest wicket taker in Test cricket in 2021 with Ravichandran Ashwin#Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) November 29, 2021

[shamaan]

Shaheen has a brilliant in swinging delivery and he now starting to use the bouncer more often.

Now need to set the batters up by getting the ball to move away then the suprise delivery coming into the batter.

[mastimasti]

You did not answer. I said “lot” of minnows, I did not say ONLY minnows. And u asked how is South Africa a minnow? When I didn’t even call them a minnow. Either accept ur mistake or do not quote me

I'll ask the question again, how many matches has Afridi played against minnows?

[Savak]

Shaheen has a brilliant in swinging delivery and he now starting to use the bouncer more often.

Now need to set the batters up by getting the ball to move away then the suprise delivery coming into the batter.

He gets the ball to slightly deviate away from the right hander when he comes around the wicket to the right hander, he struggles to do this from his natural angle. Good teams will eventually know and prepare for his inswinger by adjusting their stance, technique.

Also i haven't seen any reverse swing from him with the older ball.

[shamaan]

He gets the ball to slightly deviate away from the right hander when he comes around the wicket to the right hander, he struggles to do this from his natural angle. Good teams will eventually know and prepare for his inswinger by adjusting their stance, technique.

Also i haven't seen any reverse swing from him with the older ball.

Yes I agree once he starts to move it away from over the wicket then he will be horrible to face.Yup he doesn't know to reverse it but he did say his job is to strike up front hopefully with experience he will be able to learn that.

[Ozeirk]

Shaheen has come a long way. His action looks so much better than when he started first. I still believe he can show some patience and intelligence during pressure situation. He loses the plan a bit when he is under pressure. Prime example is the semi final against Australia and the tail end of the Bangladesh first innings where he experimented too much with the bouncer while the pitched up delivery was getting him the wickets.

He maybe able to overcome these issues in due time as he is still in his early 20s.

[Giannis]

Pakistanis have more % of steppe genes because of proximity to Iranic plateau which is why our boys from Punjab, Khyber etc develop robust facial features earlier in age and Indians (indic cline facial development legs behind Iranic) start calling pakistanis age fudgers. lol

One can not compare how boys at 18 will look like in Uttar Pradesh to how same age group boys will look like in FATA.

Bruh lets not make this a racial discussion, people do fudge their ages especially in rural parts of the subcontinent including Afghanistan. I personally believe Shaheen looks his age and his nothing to do with stereotypical facial features, if anything if you're darker and have a full beard like many men from southern Pakistan/Karachi then people think you're older even if you're not rugged looking. Light features are generally seen as youthful.

[Pollack]

He has peaked already. Now he will go in decline.

[JibranAnsari]

He can learn the art of reverse swing as well but frankly i would taka swing with the new ball at the moment.

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

I'll ask the question again, how many matches has Afridi played against minnows?

I don’t want to answer the question when u did big answer mine yet

[MesonK]

Bruh lets not make this a racial discussion, people do fudge their ages especially in rural parts of the subcontinent including Afghanistan. I personally believe Shaheen looks his age and his nothing to do with stereotypical facial features, if anything if you're darker and have a full beard like many men from southern Pakistan/Karachi then people think you're older even if you're not rugged looking. Light features are generally seen as youthful.

No one including me talked about races or anything. It is just that I have seen Indians throwing age fudging accusations at anyone with robust Iranic jawline or facial bones. This is funny because with guys like Shami and Munaf patel in India (notorious age fudgers) Indians are as chronic age fudgers as it gets. As soon as an Indian player turns "30" he starts getting grey hairs. What do we make of it?

[James]

He has peaked already. Now he will go in decline.

There is of course such thing as an early career peak. I don't see any evidence of this for SSA currently though. He just seems to be warming up as far as I can see.

[moghul]

Not there yet, has to perform against better teams and overseas.

[street cricketer]

He's got all the tools to become outrageously good, but I'm afraid he'll not fulfill his talent if Pakistan doesn't play enough Test cricket and uses him as a T20 weapon mainly.

He's got pace, he's got a deadly inswinger, a killer yorker and a very threatening bouncer due to his height. He lacks a good outswinger but there are many very good test pacers who move the ball only in one direction.

The thing he needs to learn is consistency in line and length, which is by far the most important skill in Test cricket and which he can learn only when he plays Test cricket or at the very least first class cricket more and more.

[Manzy2599]

I never said they’re minnows. Kindly read before your type something

I did read... you can paint it however you like. You wrote Minnow bashing then listed South Africa under “bottom teams” which implies that they are minnows!?!?