Carl Hooper: “Wasim Akram was one of my toughest opponents”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former West Indies all-rounder Carl Hooper selected legendary Pakistan swing maestro Wasim Akram as one of the toughest opponents he faced in his career.
Babar Azam: “Foreign players make a real effort to participate here because the bowling standard is exceptional – every team has bowlers who can clock over 145 [kph]”
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Pakistan batsman Babar Azam has heaped praise on the Pakistan Super League (PSL), saying every team has a bowler who can bowl at 145 kph.
Sarfraz Nawaz: “Earlier, he used to bowl at 145, and now he bowls at 135-137, something like that”
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Former Pakistan pace bowler Sarfraz Nawaz has called out Naseem Shah, saying his bowling speed has fallen from 145 kph to 135 kph.
Abdur Rauf: “At his peak, he was one of the best fast bowlers, regularly clocking 145+ kph and swinging the ball beautifully”
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Former Pakistan seamer Abdur Rauf recalled how Shaheen Shah Afridi used to bowl at 145 kph and swing the ball beautifully at his peak.
Pakistan seamer Naseem Shah: “Yes, speed is important, but if you bowl accurately at 137-140 kph, it is more effective. This is the average pace in world cricket today”
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Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah believes bowling accurately at 137 to 140 kph “is more effective” than simply relying on raw pace.
Awais Zia: “I have been facing bowlers in the domestic circuit who bowl at 145 kph like Wahab Riaz, (Mohammad) Sami bhai, and many others like Mohammad Talha at that time, who also bowled 140 plus kph”
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Pakistan opening batsman Awais Zia said the pace duo of Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Sami were extremely fast as the bowled at speeds of 145 kph.
Misbah-ul-Haq: “Even Bangladesh has a pacer who’s bowling at 145 kph consistently. We need to find pacers in Pakistan who can also bowl at that pace, I’m sure there are pacers in our domestic cricket, and we need to polish them”
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Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has acknowledged the need to find 145 kph fast bowlers in the country who can be groomed and go on to play for the national team.
Rashid Latif: “Shaheen (Afridi), Naseem (Shah), and Khurram (Shahzad) started off with pace of 145 [kph]. They all have come down to 130 [kph]”
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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif admitted it is concerning to see the pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad bowling much slower.
Babar Azam: “That is why I rate him highly because he has the ability to take a wicket. He never bowls with a consistent pace, he would normally bowl at 130-135 [kph] and then suddenly bowl you out at 145”
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Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam has admitted that it is very difficult to face Australia pace bowler Pat Cummins as he usually bowls between 130 and 135 kph before unleashing a quicker delivery at 145 kph to get a wicket.
Pakistan quick Shaheen Shah Afridi: “I know I can still bowl 140 or 145, but you have to do everything when the time is right”
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Pakistan T20I captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has hit back at those who have criticised him for bowling to slow, insisting that he is still capable of hitting speeds between 140 and 145 kph.
