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Pakistan recently announced their T20I and Test squad for the upcoming Australia tour, showing an immense amount of confidence in young talent. The team from the sub-continent, which has been known to produce serious pacers, is the top-ranked T20I team in the world and for them to maintain that spot, the roadmap for the future is clear.
Former Pakistan captain and current chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq sounded confident about the youngsters on the difficult tour Down Under and said:
"We have a number of surprise packages in our team that we feel confident will be able to challenge Australia. Be that T20Is or Test cricket, you will see young, exciting players. My message is clear: we want youngsters to get a chance, we believe in them and they are our future."
Apart from the national side, the domestic T20 leagues like the Big Bash League of Australia and the Caribbean Premier League of the West Indies can also help these youngsters get exposure and experience. And those leagues in turn could benefit immensely from the raw talent of these players.
Here’s a list of four talented young Pakistan fast bowlers that any T20 league would love to have:
#4 Muhammad Musa Khan
Pakistan have been known for producing some of the biggest fast bowling talents across all formats of the game. Every now and then we see youngsters from even the remote areas of the country, bowling fast and swinging the ball both ways.
Muhammad Musa Khan is one such bowler who’s already in the good books of the selectors and is touted to be one of the rising stars of Pakistan. He bowls in the late 140s and sometimes even touches the 150 km-mark, terrorizing the batsmen with his sheer pace.
Not one of the most economical bowlers that you will come across, Musa Khan believes in hitting the deck hard and making the batsmen play maximum deliveries. In his seven Pakistan Super League matches for Islamabad United, the 19-year-old took eight wickets and impressed everyone with his pace.
In the recently concluded National T20 Cup at home, Musa Khan took four wickets in the two matches he played for Northern (Pakistan) at an impressive average of 17.25. His haul of five wickets in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy doesn’t reflect the true potential of the youngster, who is known to bowl his heart out irrespective of the opponent he is up against.
Big Bash League team Melbourne Stars could benefit greatly from Musa Khan's raw pace and energy. If he is partnered with Dale Steyn, the Stars would have a seriously dangerous opening bowling combination.
In the Caribbean Premier League, 2019 runners-up Guyana Amazon Warriors could swap the 36-year-old overseas player Ben Laughlin with the Pakistani youngster.
#3 Mohammad Hasnain
Mohammad Hasnain has quickly made a mark for himself in the international arena. At 19 years and 183 days, he became the youngest player ever to claim a hat-trick in T20Is, in Pakistan's match against Sri Lanka at home this year. He removed Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka and Shehan Jayasuriya in successive deliveries to complete his hat-trick.
Hasnain has represented Pakistan in five ODIs and three T20Is, taking a combined total of eight international wickets so far. In the Pakistan Super League 2019, he took 12 wickets in only seven games for Quetta Gladiators. And in the recently concluded National T20 Cup, Hasnain was finished sixth in the top wicket-takers' list, claiming nine wickets in five games at an impressive average of 18.22.
Like Musa Khan, Hasnain also bowls consistently in the high 140s; he even clocked 151kmph while bowling to Johnson Charles in PSL this year, the fastest delivery of the tournament.
Hasnain's knack of picking up important wickets at crucial junctures of the game would put him in good stead to represent three-time BBL winners and two-time runners-up Perth Scorchers. Hasnain could easily use the fast nature of the WACA pitch to his advantage.
Hasnain was a part of the Trinbago Knight Riders squad in the CPL this year before he was asked by the PCB to return to play the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
#2 Shaheen Afridi
Aged just 19, Shaheen Afridi has already represented Pakistan in all the three formats of the game and has been highly impressive for all domestic franchises that have managed to get him on-board.
Afridi has a total combined tally of 66 wickets in 32 international appearances. 14 of those wickets have come in 10 T20I games for Pakistan at an average of 20.57.
The left-arm fast bowler was also a part of the World Cup in England this year, notching up a stunning four-wicket haul against England at Leeds and a six-wicket return against Bangladesh. Although a bit on the expensive side, Afridi can swing the ball into the right-hander early on and seam it away in his second spell, making him a deadly threat.
At the 2018 Under-19 World Cup held in New Zealand, Afridi emerged as the fifth-highest wicket-taker with 12 wickets in five games at an average of only 14.58. In the eight matches he played for Lahore Qalandars in the PSL 2019, he took 10 wickets at an average of 23.90.
Afridi has been selected in the Test squad for the tour of Australia and certainly looks to be in PCB’s plans for future tours.
He was part of Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League and the Rotterdam Rhinos squad in the inaugural Euro T20 Slam which was canceled two weeks before the tournament was scheduled to start. In the Big Bash League, Hobart Hurricanes would profit with a genuine left-handed fast bowler in their ranks, which would enable James Faulkner to concentrate more on his batting.
#1 Naseem Shah
The youngest in the list, 16-year-old Naseem Shah made headlines when he was named in the Test squad to face Australia Down Under. Born on 15 February 2003, Shah has played only five first-class matches and taken 17 wickets at an average of 18.70. He was picked up by Quetta Gladiators to play in PSL 2019, but a back injury ruled him out of the tournament.
The National T20 Cup also didn’t go according to the plans of the teenager, as he took only three wickets in four matches. However, a good outing in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy impressed Misbah enough to earn a place in the international arena.
After a six-wicket haul against Central Punjab (Pakistan), Shah has become the second-highest wicket-taker with 18 wickets in the tournament.
Resembling a Darren Gough kind of action, Shah hits the deck hard and also relies on conventional swing. With time on his side, Shah’s raw energy mixed with proper guidance from Pakistan greats like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis will undoubtedly improve him even further as a bowler.
Born after the 2003 World Cup held in South Africa, Shah's accurate bowling combined with pace will make him a bowler to watch out for if he is selected to play in the Big Bash League. The true bounce on the pitches Down Under would offer great purchase to a young pacer like Shah, and a good outing in a professional league would do wonders at the start of his career.
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