The Pakistani Bowling Attack that is Missing in Action!!

After losing Akhtar and Asif, our bowling has lost that typical 'Pakistani' look to it, the look which excites so many fans from around the world.

But what would our attack have been like if our cricketers were properly educated about their safety and if they had been on PCB contracts many years before? Let's have a look...

Saqlain Mushtaq - County cricket ruined Saqlain and whilst much of the blame lies on his own head, you cant help but wonder if a lucrative central contract with clauses about how much he could bowl would have prolonged his career! Had the PCB not been such a joke, then Saqlain could well have still been playing for Pakistan. Imagine that! Saqlain Musthaq in top form and top fitness running in to bowl for Pakistan.

Mohammad Zahid - With better advice, better handling and better conditioning it's quite likely that Zahid wouldn't have been destroyed as a bowler. Sure he may still have got a fracture but like Gul he could have overcome it and returned at near top speed. We can't blame the PCB entirely for his demise but if he'd been an Aussie then he'd be leading their attack today! Imagine a fit and firing Zahid leading the attack at one end with Saqlain at the other!

Abdul Razzaq - Who can forget pre 2002 Razzaq? He was around 90mph and bowling intelligently and effectively. But something went wrong, he had an injury to his arm and was never the same again. Perhaps getting injured at such a young age put some sort of fear into his head which stops him running in at full pelt these days. Imagine if Razzaq hadn't got injured. He'd be one of the best 3rd seamers in the world!

...if these players hadn't been mishandled or had been able to take advantage of better medical and fitness facilities then we wouldn't really have missed Akhtar and Asif. Gul and Zahid would be opening the attack with Saqi and Danny doing the spinning and Razzaq playing the bowling all-rounder.

That would be a potent and fearsome bowling attack!

What about the rest of you?

Can you come up with a better bowling attack solely from players (only capped players) who are still eligible to play but have been unlucky or mishandled?

Mushtaq Ahmed....

It's amazing how such 'minor' injuries affect some bowlers e.g Pathan, A Razzaq and there are some who have major injuries yet they continue to bowl as well after the injury as they did before e.g Imran Khan, U Gul etc

I don't think you can blame the board for any of the above. Saqlain himself decided to play county cricket. Warnie has been playing county cricket for years as well, but he manages to keep himself fit. So had Mushy, and he has stayed injury free. A spinner in county cricket is only going to learn more. You may have a case for a fast bowler, but I don't agree with spinners.

Mohd Zahid was a good bowler, but in the end, any express fast bowler is susceptible to breakdown from injury. He was unfortunate that when he got injured and was sidelines, Shoaib was given the chance and he took it with both hands.

Again with Razzak, if anything you can blame the board for having too much faith in him. First it was Razzak and Azhar Mahmood as the next Imran Khan. But it didn't take long for Mahmood to fade away. Razzak held onto his place, but he began concentrating on his batting more than his bowling, so the result was inevitable.

In the end, injuries are sometimes unavoidable and are part of the game. I don't agree that we can comment on "what if" situations. Otherwise you could have a "what if" for every player who ever represented Pakistan.

I agree, it has a lot to do with how the player themselves react to it.

didn't Razzaq parents (both mom & dad) died souple of years ago? may b around 2001 ? (I m NOT sure abt that though). loosing his parents at young age could b reason as well.
I think a Englih county couple of years ago cancelled his contract as well saying Razaaq doesn't seem to b interested in game.

why do you make these threads to torture us

Now just imagine this:

Shoaib Akthar
Mohammad Zahid
Mohammad Asif
Saqlain Mushtaq
Umar Gul/Abdul Razzaq/Mohammad Sami(esp in top form)

Oh boy here we go again Merc enough about pace already sure its nice to see a pacer like Shoaib bowl but I won't mind the medium pacers either as long as Pakistan keeps winning.

Saqi is not a pacer

Either way injuries are a part of cricket and every team goes through the same problems.

Lets just learn to accept that injuries are part of cricket. You don't want to be talking like an Indian do you .... "oh Tendulkar would have been an even greater cricketer if he hadn't got tennis elbow" .... "Pathan would have been the next Wasim Akram if his cat hadn't died" ... etc...

Exactly my point.

Of course every team goes through injuries but a large part of being a fan is talking about the 'what ifs'

What's the point of a discussion board on Pakistani cricket if you never discuss it??

Guys how fast was Mohammed Zahid, from hearing all this he seems to be in the 150k region?

Saqlain was a genius, but his action made the body take a alot of damage...

Mohd Zahid: Was very unlucky.... Pcb arent good enuf to understand how to keep fast bowler injure free.. Look at lee,

Razzaq..: well he doesnt seem to play with passion/spirit he just play cricket for the money and as a hobby. He doesnt want to get injure he just want to earn money..... there are no passion when he is batting/bowling and fielding....in other way Inzi when he bats you can see the concentration the passion....

Have a search around the forums, he's believed to have been faster than Akhtar. Below is a thread to get you started on him...

Mohammad Zahid: Pakistan's other 100mph man!!

zahid was very very fast. imagine a bowling attack with shoaib akhtar, zahid, asif, backed up by Gul, rana. And if Sami could bowl better. followed by saqi. O mY, what a mouth watering prospect. which batting lineup wouldnt be nervous against this attack

He was amazing.....tall & typical fast bowler built....and definately in to high 90+ MPH....many say he was quicker then shioab....

I can think of Yasir Ali...who is still eligible and Young

Why Pakistan throws youngsters in the deep end and then forget about them

Anyone who has seen him of late, can attest to my sentiments that 'He seems to have something special about him'

BTW, his bowling action now is clean as a whistle