Pakistan seamer Shoaib Akhtar: “Pakistani bowlers have no planning. They can’t bowl at one line and length consistently. They can’t bowl quick as well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has blasted the current pace attack, saying “they can’t bowl quick”.
Pakistan’s fast bowling line-up currently consists of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
All of them are capable of bowling 140 kph, but Akhtar, who holds the record for the fastest ball bowled at 161.3 kph (100.2 mph), feels that their pace needs to increase and they need to be hitting those top speeds on a regular basis in order to trouble the opposition batsmen.
In addition to this, the Rawalpindi Express noted that the current crop of pace bowlers are not able to maintain a consistent line and length when bowling, which makes it harder for them to take wickets.
“Pakistani bowlers have no planning. They can’t bowl at one line and length consistently. They can’t bowl quick as well,” Akhtar was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
During the 2025 Champions Trophy, Afridi, Naseem and Rauf all took two wickets in two matches at an average of 71, 50 and 67.50 respectively.
The men in green failed to make it out of the group stage in the tournament as they lost to New Zealand and India.
Their final game against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a tour of New Zealand, which will consist of five T20Is and three ODIs that will be played from March 16 to April 5.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir
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