[VIDEOS] Ihsanullah's express pace at the international level - Performance watch

[MenInG]

We know how quick he can bowl as we saw in PSL 8 but can he do the same at the international level?

[MenInG]

In Ihsanullah, Pakistan have a reliable pace bowler to carry them through the middle-overs. The right-arm pacer’s thunderbolts kept batters on backfoot throughout the HBL PSL 8 as he peppered every opposition with lethal bouncers. Ihsanullah was the first bowler in the tournament to pick a five-wicket haul and he went on to finish the tournament as the best player and best bowler for taking 22 wickets (the second most) at only 15.77 runs apiece and he leaked only 7.59 runs in the 45.4 overs he bowled, the most for a bowler with top-five wickets.

“My parents wanted me to play for Pakistan and I am delighted that their dream is coming true,” Ihsanullah, who belongs to the village of Matta in Swat, said. “Definitely my experience of the HBL PSL will come in handy. There were players from all around the world and even from Afghanistan and I learned a great deal bowling to them, so it is going to be useful.”

[gazza619]

Expecting good things from him.

[Champ_Pal]

He is very similar to Haris Rauf in terms of pace. Only one can partner Shaheen eventually.

PSL has proven that Pakistan has a ton of express pacemen available to pick for the national team.

[Saj]

With that sort of pace he will shake up a few batters.

Needs guidance and wise heads around him.

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

With that sort of pace he will shake up a few batters.

Needs guidance and wise heads around him.

I have no source or expertise on this, but I think there’s possibly a learning disability and/or social anxiety issue w/ Ihsanullah. He routinely freezes up when he’s interviewed.

I mention this because of your point on guidance. All players are each a different mix of ability/personality and their mental layout.

I hope whoever captains him, acts as an elder brother to him. He may be a grown man, but developmentally (in my unqualified opinion) he has room to grow.

He’s a fine raw talent, but we all need to be incredibly patient with his development. He’s not a Wasim Akram type who was confident in his own ability. He will fail here and there and as fans we need to support him to allow him to fully meet his potential.

I also think having Abdul Rehman as coach is great for him, because Abdul Rehman is a calming, approachable person.

[Omer2002]

Sharjah is a graveyard for for pacers

[Firebat]

Receiving his cap from bowling coach Umar Gul

[Kianig89]

Ihsanullah for 5fer

[MenInG]

Wicket on the first ball and then another later in the over

Welcome to international cricket Ihsanullah

[Grunge101]

The speed gun readings in sharjah don't seem to match up to visual perception of his speed. Those look like proper thunderbolts

[MenInG]

The speed gun readings in sharjah don't seem to match up to visual perception of his speed. Those look like proper thunderbolts

Showed 142.5kph

[BDfanforever]

Is he really 20 year old? I have hard time believing that.

[Grunge101]

Showed 142.5kph

Yah I know but those balls looked way faster than that. He was hurrying up everyone, hitting them in the body and you don't expect that from international batsmen facing early 140s.

In the PSL he was regularly touching 150.

[MenInG]

Ihsanullah's first wicket and on the first ball of his debut

View post on imgur.com

[Saj]

Is he really 20 year old? I have hard time believing that.

I would say 24 or 25 at least.

I thought he bowled well on debut and gave 100%.

He's got the makings of a good career ahead of him if managed carefully and well.

[MenInG]

Ihsanullah's first wicket and on the first ball of his debut

View post on imgur.com

Can't believe that this ball was about 135 kph! Something off with these speed guns

[Rana]

Can’t wait to see him bowl in SA and Australia

[Boycottisno2]

It is an embarrassment for all of us that he is shown as 20 year old.... to me he looks like 25 ..... why is pcb not doing anything to stop fictitious age claims by 80% of of pakistan cricketers..... after Shahid Afridi retired he admitted he was 5 years older than his claimed age his playing days.....

[MenInG]

It is an embarrassment for all of us that he is shown as 20 year old.... to me he looks like 25 ..... why is pcb not doing anything to stop fictitious age claims by 80% of of pakistan cricketers..... after Shahid Afridi retired he admitted he was 5 years older than his claimed age his playing days.....

Lets keep an eye on the wickets column.

The age issue is not relevant as he is not playing U19s etc.

[MenInG]

Continues to impress in international cricket as well.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Ihsanullah 18(11) - 35/1 in 4.4 ov.

View post on imgur.com

[Marooned]

Nobody has looked remotely comfortable vs him all series. He's just thrilling to watch

[MenInG]

Nobody has looked remotely comfortable vs him all series. He's just thrilling to watch

Capable of serious damage at 147.kph

[Marooned]

This guy is scary. The kind who can physically injure you.

[Usman Chadda]

This guy is scary. The kind who can physically injure you.

He is doing this on a slow UAE wicket, he will be literally a danger to face on Australian or South African wickets.

If he bowls with real accuracy, you could get a Mitch Johnson type bowler out of him in Test cricket.

[Hextro]

The Afghani batsmen were never expected to play him well. Ihsanullah's real test will come against Aus and Eng, teams that know how to play express bouncers.

Real entertaining watching him run in and bounce batsmen out, Pakistan has been missing that fire for a while now.

[Hextro]

He is doing this on a slow UAE wicket, he will be literally a danger to face on Australian or South African wickets.

If he bowls with real accuracy, you could get a Mitch Johnson type bowler out of him in Test cricket.

The Pakistani think tank needs to tell him not to overdo it in the countries you've mentioned. Young Pakistani bowlers getting carried away with the bounce is all too common.

[jnaveen1980]

Good pace. But he has to pass the Harry Brook Test lol

[IAJ]

Amazing stamina, to bang in short almost all the deliveries on this slow pitch is amazing. But should take care of his back as well.

[angrypathan]

Finally, a janglee bowler

[Marooned]

Finally, a janglee bowler

That's the word for him!

[Saj]

Love the way he steams in every ball.

You can see the anger in his face.

The guy literally breathes fire!

It's been a long time since we had this type of bowler.

[Saj]

Imagine him in Australia or South Africa - what a scary thought for batters.

I just hope PCB takes good care of him and manages him properly.

[ethan hunt]

Love him. Brilliant natural length. Great bouncer. 145 kph from him looks like 152 kph for other bowlers.
I just hope Umar gum doesnt ruin him. Must learn to think on his feet and work on stamina and fielding.

[SpiritOf1903]

Modelling himself on Archer which is no bad thing

[ethan hunt]

He is your third seamer for the ODI world cup.

[Saj]

Loved watching him bowl today.

Snarling, pumped up, just raw aggression.

Didn't care about line or length.

[Rana]

Monster pacer

[PakEngFan]

Monster pacer

Opinion changed again I thought he needed to learn how to bowl before having his signature celebration?

[as-95]

Love him. Brilliant natural length. Great bouncer. 145 kph from him looks like 152 kph for other bowlers.
I just hope Umar gum doesnt ruin him. Must learn to think on his feet and work on stamina and fielding.

To be fair, I see similarities between him and Gul. Ofcourse Gul didn’t have the express pace but he was a quick, tall and right armed.

Handy with the bat too and a blistering Yorker so I’m sure he’ll give Ihsan some good advice. Can’t do worse than Waqar has lol…

[Slim]

I like that he is tall, has good pace and has a smooth action but i am afraid if he doesnt add more variations to his armoury he will be found out soon. I have noticed that he always balls short and havent seen him bowl much yorkers if any. He needs to develop some swinging deliveries on good length, normal and slow yorker as well. Still a very raw product in my book. Wish him the best!

[Slim]

Also we need to utilise him more for test and ODIs. We have enough t20i specialist bowlers. He can be brought in t20is in the wc year though.

[shamaan]

Brilliant series for Ihsanullah bowled with brilliant energy however he needs to improve his fielding.

[shaz619]

Reminds me a bit of Morkel, wonderful prospect for Pakistan

[mazkhan]

Find of the series for me

[Omer2002]

Very good prospect unlike dhani ..defo needs to improve his fielding and batting.

[PakHammer]

Need him to focus on test cricket rather than white ball cricket. Him and Shaheen steaming in for test matches will stop England taking the pee like they did in the test series.

[Bilal7]

I want to see him demolish batters in the world cup. He should play ahead of Naseem Shah.

However, please sub him out for a better fielder when he's not bowling.

[moghul]

Which speed gun was accurate, at PSL or at Sharja ? Looks like Sharjah's was a bit slower . Ihsanullah looked like bowling even quicker but not according to the speed gun.

[Rana]

Opinion changed again I thought he needed to learn how to bowl before having his signature celebration?

Today he bowled beautifully like a premier pacer does

[PakEngFan]

Today he bowled beautifully like a premier pacer does

So your opinion changed in a matter of days. I see.

[BunnyRabbit]

Which speed gun was accurate, at PSL or at Sharja ? Looks like Sharjah's was a bit slower . Ihsanullah looked like bowling even quicker but not according to the speed gun.

Think the speedgun measures the release speed from the hand. Considering the weather difference in Pak and UAE, this must have been his first time playing outside Pak. I guess, it's not that speed guns were inaccurate, he's probably just adjusting.

[BunnyRabbit]

Reminds me a bit of Morkel, wonderful prospect for Pakistan

Yes, wanted to say exactly that.

[Ryw]

Loved watching him bowl today.

Snarling, pumped up, just raw aggression.

Didn't care about line or length.

If he can generate this kind of deadly fast bowling while "fasting" imagine when he is not

[Rana]

So your opinion changed in a matter of days. I see.

For young, inexperienced players you cannot truly establish a full and final verdict

[Saj]

Find of the series for me

No doubt.

Exciting times but PCB has to manage him carefully and plan properly.

[the Great Khan]

No doubt.

Exciting times but PCB has to manage him carefully and plan properly.

Very much so but I always think players have to also rely on themselves and their mentors. The PCB is unreliable.

[Extra_Cover]

I want PCB to manage him properly. We are potentially looking at 200+ test wickets capable bowler. The priority for Ihsanullah should be to play tests and after a while in international cricket he should avoid playing meaningless bilateral limited overs cricket so his energy can be sustained for test cricket and he is injury free for longer time.

With the following bowling attack Pakistan might do slightly better in SENA test matches.
A. Shaheen
B. Ihsanullah
C. Naseem Shah
D. Faheem Ashraf / Hasan Ali
E. Shadab / Abrar

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

I want PCB to manage him properly. We are potentially looking at 200+ test wickets capable bowler. The priority for Ihsanullah should be to play tests and after a while in international cricket he should avoid playing meaningless bilateral limited overs cricket so his energy can be sustained for test cricket and he is injury free for longer time.

With the following bowling attack Pakistan might do slightly better in SENA test matches.
A. Shaheen
B. Ihsanullah
C. Naseem Shah
D. Faheem Ashraf / Hasan Ali
E. Shadab / Abrar

I like your suggested bowling attack, but I’d like to suggest a couple of tweaks.

We need to stop seeing Faheem as a bowling allrounder, at test level. I’d play him as a batting allrounder in SENA though.

I’d also consider Aamir Jamal in tests primarily, given his fitness and how he bowls a heavy ball.

I’d like for them to consider Sameen Gul as the 2nd new ball bowler. He’s probably the best at swinging the new ball at reasonable pace, other than Shaheen.

Lastly I’d have Usama Mir as my main test spinner. He’s made for red ball cricket.

Completely agree on carefully managing Ihsanullah’s minutes. It’s really important.

[Front Foot Pull]

good height and pace. should see more.

a few typical reactions here of already comparing with great bowlers of the past. seen how most of these comparisons went in the past. good to see a few more series to gauge.

[Titan24]

I like your suggested bowling attack, but I’d like to suggest a couple of tweaks.

We need to stop seeing Faheem as a bowling allrounder, at test level. I’d play him as a batting allrounder in SENA though.

I’d also consider Aamir Jamal in tests primarily, given his fitness and how he bowls a heavy ball.

I’d like for them to consider Sameen Gul as the 2nd new ball bowler. He’s probably the best at swinging the new ball at reasonable pace, other than Shaheen.

Lastly I’d have Usama Mir as my main test spinner. He’s made for red ball cricket.

Completely agree on carefully managing Ihsanullah’s minutes. It’s really important.

Totally agreed upon Aamir Jamal deserving a look. Was one of the best pacers in QAE this season, is fit, seems to have good attitude and batting skills are a bonus.

I would also like to add Arshad Iqbal and Sameen Gul amongst the pacers that should be in radar for test level (If 100% fit, as test cricket requires that) considering that they both have good height as well as good amount of FC experience with impressive numbers.

Regarding Usama, I always felt he had the potential to be solid red ball bowler however injuries kind of held him back. Currently his numbers and lack of performances in red ball cricket mean that we will have to wait for him in the next season or so to create an impact in the format. At the same time I understand that there are lack of quality spin options in test cricket. Shadab needs to start playing the format as he can be handy for that all rounder position in test cricket.

[Saj]

I don't want this guy to be a nice and friendly and happy pacer. We have too many of them already.

I want him to be a nasty piece of work, in the faces of the opposition batters, snarling at the opposition at every opportunity.

[FreakCricket]

Need to put on some muscles and work on his run-up which doesnt look too smooth, little bit of coaching he is going to be world class.

[shamaan]

This should be the core of the bowling squad in SENA

Shaheen
Sameen Gull
Ihsanullah
Naseem Shah
Jamal.

[MenInG]

Simon Doull "Ihsanullah is an exciting talent. Everything about that action, the wrist position, the height, the effort - there is so much to love about watching it" #Cricket pic.twitter.com/7wkHlk96ce

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) March 30, 2023

[Farah Sohail]

@Saj can you do Ihsanullah’s interview?

[Saj]

@Saj can you do Ihsanullah’s interview?

Yes we will try.

[MenInG]

Wonder if he will get a chance in the T20Is against New Zealand if Pakistan win well in the games? Who would you drop?

[Hextro]

Wonder if he will get a chance in the T20Is against New Zealand if Pakistan win well in the games? Who would you drop?

Take out Faheem and push in Ihsanullah, easy fix.

[Zaz]

Take out Faheem and push in Ihsanullah, easy fix.

Rest shaheen and rauf for the odd game ideally

Like for like replacements

[Hextro]

Rest shaheen and rauf for the odd game ideally

Like for like replacements

I feel like Rauf and Shaheen need some game time since they already missed the Afg series. Faheem will lose us matches against teams like Aus and Eng so it's best if the management drops him now before it comes back to bite them.

[moghul]

When they have very good fast bowlers in Ihsanullah, Naseem and Waseem, why playing bits and pieces player like Faheem and not them.

[Sherlock]

The only issue I see from him, from the little I've seen in the PSL, is his fielding. I think he really needs to improve in that respect. He's pretty rash and even cumbersome at times.

[gazza619]

The only issue I see from him, from the little I've seen in the PSL, is his fielding. I think he really needs to improve in that respect. He's pretty rash and even cumbersome at times.

I honestly dont want our express pacers dive around to save a run and risk a career ending injury.

It makes me nervous when i see Shaheen Afridi trying to be Jhonty Rhodes in the field. It is just not worth it unless it is a World Cup final.

[MenInG]

Should be given a chance today. Get him lots of game time and this series is a good time for that.

[IAJ]

I feel like Rauf and Shaheen need some game time since they already missed the Afg series. Faheem will lose us matches against teams like Aus and Eng so it's best if the management drops him now before it comes back to bite them.

Faheem should not be in the first eleven at all and no need to have Faheen in the team as long as you have Babar and Rizwan opening. These guys will play 10 overs and then you have many batsmen to play last 10 overs so need a proper bowler than an "allrounder".

[Bilal Ahmad15]

Seriously...

Is he injured or what?

Its a New Zealand B Team! Experiment and try new things

[TheSultan]

I asked this in the match thread - way to kill any momentum he gained in the Afghan series.

[Muhammad Saad]

Make no sense not to play him from the first game after he was high on confidence after the Afg series

[MenInG]

Ramiz Raja on Ishanullah:

"In my opinion, Pakistan should let Ihsanullah play. He has already proven himself in the Afghanistan series in UAE, and it's unlikely that he has suddenly fallen behind the line. Furthermore, he has done nothing wrong and possesses a unique talent for generating extra bounce, which gives him added comfort and confidence in a winning environment"

"I fail to understand the logic behind keeping Ihsanullah out of the lineup and pushing him so far back that he may not even get a chance to play. He clearly possesses a talent that is visible to all, and therefore, I believe he should be given a fair opportunity to showcase his skills on the field"