5 fastest Pakistani bowlers currently

Pakistan has produced some of the fastest bowlers of all time. The country is home to the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis. They have a rich culture and legacy of fast bowling in their cricketing history.

Pakistan continues to produce some of the finest fast-bowling talents. Although they have not had a pacer with the longevity and quality of Akram and Waqar in the 21st century, the new crop of bowlers do not shy away from bowling fast.

Here's a look at the 5 quickest bowlers in Pakistan.

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#1 Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf is arguably the fastest bowler in world cricket currently, along with Mark Wood, Anrich Nortje, and Jofra Archer. The 29-year-old pacer used to play tape-ball cricket in his early days - a very famous form of cricket at the grassroots level in Pakistan.

Rauf made his international debut in January 2020. Since then, he has represented the country in 57 T20Is, 18 ODIs, and 1 Test. He has clocked over 150 kph on multiple occasions.

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#2 Mohammad Hasnain

Mohammad Hasnain is a 22-year-old fast bowler born in Hyderabad, Pakistan. The 6 feet 1-inch tall bowler made his international debut in March 2019. Since then, he has represented the country in 9 ODIs and 27 T20Is.

He burst onto the scene because of his sheer pace and accuracy. He bowled the fastest delivery in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) history - 155.1 kph. However, his bowling action was reported in January 2022 in the Big Bash League (BBL). The International Cricket Council (ICC) cleared his action in June 2022.

Hasnain had said (via i Newspaper):

“It was a very tough time trying to remodel that action. I went in every day and bowled 7,000 to 8,000 times overall to try and get it right. It took me six months to get my new action approved. It’s a lot of effort but that hard work has now paid off. I’ve got a contract here with Oval Invincibles and I’m bowling even quicker than before."

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#3 Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Afridi has been among the best fast bowlers in the world since his debut. He has become the most established player from the 2018 U-19 World Cup batch, as other elite talents continue to fight it out for a consistent run in their national teams. He is the leader of the bowling attack for Pakistan in all three formats.

Although Afridi does not have a reputation for being as fast as the likes of Wood, Jofra, and his own teammate Rauf, he is also pretty quick himself. The left-arm fast bowler clocked 151 kph at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2021 against New Zealand. He has represented his country in 47 T20Is, 32 ODIs, and 25 Tests.

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#4 Naseem Shah

Naseem Shah made his debut for Pakistan in November 2019 as a 16-year-old - the 9th youngest in the history of Test cricket. While many believe he was fast-tracked too early, he does have immense potential to make it big at the international level. The 20-year-old has played 15 Tests, 5 ODIs, and 16 T20Is. It will be interesting to see how they manage the young right-arm pacer's workload.

Naseem's fastest-recorded delivery was 148.7 kph in the previous season of the PSL. He has shown the ability to cross 90 miles/hour regularly against some of the biggest names in the business in international and franchise cricket.

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#5 Shahnawaz Dahani

The 24-year-old right-arm fast bowler made his debut for Pakistan in November 2021. He has played 2 ODIs and 11 T20Is in that time period. He was ruled out of the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) because of a finger injury.

He bowls over 140 kph consistently. Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood heaped a shower of praise on him after he was the highest wicket-taker in PSL 2021. He said (via CricTracker):

"Dahani is always smiling, whether he’s been hit or not. The whole team lights up. It’s like we’ve found a new Shoaib Akhtar. This is just a start for him; we’ll work on his out-swingers, on his in-swinger. There are things I will write down in a report for the Pakistan bowling coach all the things he needs to work on.”