A big blow

In 1970s and ‘80s, fast bowlers dominated international cricket. Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft and Malcolm Marshall helped West Indies rule the cricket world. Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee of Australia, Richard Hadlee of New Zealand, Bob Willis of England and Pakistan’s Imran Khan were the biggest names of the cricket world. In those days, only India and Pakistan produced quality spinners who won matches for their teams. But in 1990s, spinners started dominating the world of cricket.

Some spinners will always be remembered for their extraordinary performances for a long period in international cricket. Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Anil Kumble, Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Ajmal perfected the art of spin. In today’s cricket, spinners play a decisive role for their team win. ICC cricket World Cup is around one month away. Conditions in England mostly favour seamers, but in summer spinners’ role could be important in the mega event. Therefore, all teams include spinners. Pakistan team is in England to play a five-match ODI series against the home side. It will provide an excellent opportunity for captain Sarfraz Ahmed and the management to check the different options and find out the best combination for the World Cup.

Pakistan received a setback when Shadab Khan, the only specialist spinner in the squad, was ruled out of the England ODI series because of a virus infection. Legspinner Yasir Shah has been named as Shadab’s replacement. According to the PCB, it will take four weeks for Shadab to recover. If he doesn’t get fit in time, it will be a great loss for the Pakistan team as he has been the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in the shorter formats of the game. Pakistan team is also uncertain on the fitness of Mohammad Hafeez and ImadWasim. Both have been included in the squad with the hope that they will be fit before the World Cup. But Shadab’s loss will be bigger if he is not fit in time.

He played an important role in Champions Trophy win two years ago. The highly-rated 20-year-old Shadab has the temperament and self-belief to deal with the pressure at the biggest stage. If we compare the statistics of Shadab Khan and his replacement Yasir Shah, it is very clear that Shadab is more effective in ODIs and T20Is, while Yasir Shah is more successful in the longest version of the game. In five Tests, Shadab has taken 12 wickets at an average of 38.83. His best match performance is 4-80 against South Africa at Johannesburg. In 34 One-day Internationals, he has taken 47 wickets, averaging 27.74. More importantly, his economy rate is just 4.80. He has dismissed 44 batsmen in 32 T20Is at an average of 18.59. His economy rate is 6.84. Shadab is also a useful lowerorder batsman.

He has scored three fifties each in Tests and ODIs, averaging 34.28 and 29.40, respectively. On the other hand, Yasir Shah has an impressive record in Tests with 203 wickets in 35 matches at an average of 28.72. He has taken 16 five-wicket and three 10-wickets hauls. Yasir has played only 24 ODIs, taking 23 wickets at a high average of 47.39. In his two Twenty20 Internationals, he failed to take a wicket. Shadab was selected for the Under-19World Cup in 2016 and he topped the wicket charts in the tournament, picking up 11 wickets in six games at a commendable average of 19. Shadab with his excellent performance was selected for a Twenty20 International against the West Indies in March 2017. He availed himself of the opportunity and got Man-of-the-Match award with figures of 4-0-7-3 on debut. It was the most economical spell on T20I debut. He got three such awards in his first 10 T20Is. About his success, Shadab says that since he had played for Pakistan ‘A’, he found PSL easy. “PSL allowed me to learn more and more. You rub shoulders with international and senior players and that’s an invaluable experience. PSL provides a good platform to young players,” he says.

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