Ramiz Raja confident about Pakistan’s ‘perfect and filled’ fast-bowling future

Ramiz Raja, the cricketer turned commentator, has been impressed with Pakistan’s rise in the fast-bowling department. Raja, also a former Pakistan batsman, was happy with how the speedsters breathed fire in the 2020 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Quetta Gladiators couldn’t qualify for the semis, but their pacer Mohammad Hasnain ended as the leading wicket-taker.

Hasnain, who was the Player of the Match in the 2019 PSL final, picked up 15 wickets from nine games, though he had a high economy of 8.96. Left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi also impressed for the Lahore Qalandars, picking up 13 wickets from nine matches. Raza was awestruck by the high-voltage fast bowling and said that the future is ‘perfect and filled’ without much of a doubt.

Ramiz Raja’s words of praises

“We saw a high velocity, high voltage fast bowling in PSL. These bowlers used variations according to the requirement of the situation. This shows that Pakistan’s future in fast bowling is fully perfect and filled,” Ramiz was quoted as saying in Dawn.

Both Hasnain and Afridi are in their 19s and have played quite a few matches for the Pakistan national team. Among other youngsters, Muhammad Musa and Naseem Shah didn’t have overly outstanding outings in the PSL like that of Hasnain and Afridi. However, they also managed to grab eyeballs. Even as Musa picked up six wickets, the 17-year-old Shah had five scalps to his name.

Both Shah and Musa were picked in Pakistan’s tour of Australia last year. While Musa hasn’t played a whole lot, Shah has made a significant impact in Test cricket. The youngster became the youngest to get a Test hat-trick against Bangladesh in February at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. In four Tests, Naseem already has 13 wickets after making his debut at The Gabba in Brisbane.

Among the experienced men, Wahab Riaz did well in the PSL. The left-armer accounted for 11 wickets in nine matches, representing the Peshawar Zalmi. Hasan Ali, who hasn’t played international cricket since the 2019 World Cup, got eight wickets from nine games for the Zalmi itself. Mohammad Amir picked up 10 wickets with a four-fer against the Zalmi in Rawalpindi.