Abdur Rauf: “At his peak, he was one of the best fast bowlers, regularly clocking 145+ kph and swinging the ball beautifully”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan seamer Abdur Rauf recalled how Shaheen Shah Afridi used to bowl at 145 kph and swing the ball beautifully at his peak.
He noted that the 24-year-old was “one of the best fast bowlers” in the world as he was a constant threat.
However, Rauf feels that Afridi has lost that magic that made him so deadly with the new ball as his pace his down. Additionally, he isn’t taking wickets as regularly as he used to.
“At his peak, he was one of the best fast bowlers, regularly clocking 145+ kph and swinging the ball beautifully,” he told the Times of India.
Afridi recently featured in Pakistan’s ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, and took six wickets in three matches at an average of 33.16.
He then played in the 2025 Champions Trophy and claimed two wickets in two games at an average of 71.
Pakistan could not make it out of the group stage in the tournament as they lost to New Zealand and India.
Their final match against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
Pakistan are now playing a limited overs series against New Zealand and lost the T20I series 4-1.
In the four games he played, Afridi snapped up two wickets at an average of 66.50.
Pakistan and New Zealand will now play three ODIs, with the first match starting on March 29 in Napier.
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
One thing I have been noting about the Pakistani fast bawlers during the last decade whosoever gets married, his bawling form goes away. For example, we start from Junaid Khan then Muhammad Amir. Wahab Riaz became mediocre after his marriage. Observe the bawling of Haris Rauf his bawling speed has gone down after marriage and he has become the most expensive bawlers of the world. Similarly, Shaheen Afridi is going down day by day. If we see the greats of 19s, Imran Khan married after his retirement, Waqar Younas married in 2001 or 2002 after spending 12 years playing. Wasim Akram was only exception.