Pakistan has given the world several cricket legends who enthralled the fans through their incredible abilities. From high quality pace bowlers to some intelligent and glorious batsmen, this nation has produced numerous great cricketers over these years.
However, Pakistan also had some bright prospects who garnered all the headlines during their arrival but failed to live up to their potential in the subsequent games. These cricketers looked extremely promising during their early days and were expected to achieve something big in their careers. But lapses in form and other reasons brought an early end to their international careers.
Here we look at the five cricketers from Pakistan who had explosive starts but eventually faded away.
#5 Wajahatullah Wasti
Wajahatullah Wasti took the cricketing world by storm as he achieved the rare feat of scoring hundreds in both innings of a Test match in only his second Test appearance. Playing against Sri Lanka in March 1999, Wasti scored a solid 138 in the first innings and stood unbeaten on 121 later in the second innings to put his team in a commanding position.
His impeccable technique and ability to see off the new ball made him an instant hero in Pakistan and it looked like the men in green had found the perfect opening partner for the flamboyant Saeed Anwar.
Wasti carried his purple match to the 1999 World Cup and in the semi-final game against New Zealand, he stitched a match-winning partnership of 190 runs with Saeed Anwar.
However, his knock of 84 in the semi-finals was his last 50 plus score in international cricket. The right-hand batsman, in his consequent matches, failed to live up to the expectations and was soon left out of the team.
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After his scintillating debut against Sri Lanka, the Pakistani opener played four more Tests, scoring a total of 59 runs. His extremely low strike rate and absence of big scores resulted in his omission from the Test arena while his defensive batting style was deemed unfit for the ODI format.
Wasti continued to feature in Pakistan’s domestic circuit till 2010 and made frequent appearances in the Pakistan A team. He finished his first-class career with more than eight thousand runs.
#4 Shabbir Ahmed
Shabbir Ahmed was tall and had an unconventional bowling action. This resulted in generating extra bounce from the surface. He was also pretty good at reverse swinging the ball later on in the innings.
With all the aforementioned components, the right arm fast bowler rose to prominence pretty quickly and became the joint-quickest Pakistani bowler to 50 Test wickets. His potential was clearly visible in his debut game where he picked up eight wickets (three in first innings and five in second) on a lifeless Karachi pitch against Bangladesh.
In the same year, he rattled the South African batsman at Faisalabad, picking up six wickets in the game and in December 2003, he ran through the Kiwi batting line up at Hamilton, accounting for five batsmen. In ODI cricket too, he was impressive and his sterling control over swing ensured he finished his overs without conceding too many runs.
Just when Shabbir looked at the peak of his game, he was reported for suspect bowling action which eventually brought his down fall. He was awarded a one-year ban in 2005 from which he never recovered. He remained a strong force in List A and first-class cricket till 2013 but the availability of plenty of pace bowlers in the nation meant that Shabbir didn’t get any chance to make a come back.
#3 Yasir Hameed
Yasir Hameed’s international batting career is a perfect example of a boom and bust story. He scored two hundreds in his first two Test innings but in the next 54 innings, he failed to notch up a triple figure score.
Hameed made an impressive Test debut against Bangladesh in 2003 by scoring 170 and 105 runs in two innings. But later on, a series of below par performances pushed him out of the team. With big half-centuries against New Zealand and India in 2004, he made a statement but his inconsistency and emergence of other opening batsmen brought an end to his international career.
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His impressive performances in domestic cricket offered him plenty of chances in Test cricket but his failure to convert starts into big scores and his lazy elegance cost him his place in the side.
The right-hand batsman made his last appearance in Test cricket in 2010 against England and since then has remained a regular face in domestic cricket.
#2 Imran Farhat
The aggressive approach and elegant stroke making meant Imran Farhat had everybody’s eyes glued to him when he batted. The left-hand opening batsman was ideal for milking the powerplays in ODIs while his compact technique helped him in the longer version of the game.
After his impressive innings of 63 on his debut Test against New Zealand in 2001, Farhat stitched four consecutive hundred-run opening partnerships with Yasir Hameed in 2003 to seal the opening spot in Pakistan’s team. But his inconsistency and lapses in technique cost him his place in the side.
From his debut in 2001 till 2013, the left-hand batsman was in and out of the Pakistani team frequently due to his potential talent and also due to the lack of other reliable options. However, Salman Butt’s emergence gave Pakistani selectors an ideal replacement for Farhat and the latter never really got a look in after that.
As it became obvious that selectors had moved on, a dejected Farhat announced his retirement from international cricket in 2016 at the age of 34 years.
#1 Taufeeq Umar
Taufeeq Umar announced his arrival in Test cricket by scoring an efficient hundred against Bangladesh on his debut Test in 2001. In subsequent matches, the left-hander showed promise but it was his valiant 88 against Australia in Colombo in 2002 that stamped his reputation as a reliable opener for Pakistan.
Till 2004 the opening batsman was a permanent member of Pakistan’s team. However, a series of below par scores against India resulted in his omission from the national side. By piling huge scores in domestic cricket, he kept himself under the selector’s radar and was called back in 2010.
Umar scored 236 against Sri Lanka in 2011 but he failed to deliver consistently and hence was once again dropped from the team. He played his last Test in 2014 against New Zealand.
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