I would like to begin showcasing the team's top bowling talent (equivalent to pitchers in baseball), with a brief biography and picture. I have included a few defintions to give you some insight on bowling criteria.
Definitions
“Shoaib Akhtar burst onto the big stage in the 1999 World Cup with a long, hurtling run-up and blistering speed. His star status was sealed by a great flop of hair, a talent for show-boating and a vivid nickname - the Rawalpindi Express. But it was too much, too young. A huge ego and his blind ambition to break the 100mph barrier seemed to matter more to him than cementing his place in the Pakistan side.”(Abbasi). Shoaib Akhtar the fiercest bowler since Waqar Younis (former Pakistan captain and excellent reverse swinger) ravages opponents through exceptional use of seam and pace. Being the top bowler currently on the team, he is expected to lead the young inexperienced Pakistani bowling attack. Being the fastest bowler in the world with his bowling clocking in at around 160 km/h, batters are not enticed to bat against him.
Rising from the shadows of Shoaib Akhtar is Mohammad Sami. Slimly built fast bowler with various bowling tricks up his sleeve to confuse batters. Currently, the second best bowler on the team with the potential of leading it. “From a shortish run-up and high action he generates surprising pace, consistently around the 90mph mark. He also quickly mastered traditional outswing and yorker-length reverse-swing. Sami has a slight build for a fast bowler and once he fills out he should be nudging the speedometer even higher. After a disappointing series against India,his bowling average is in the mid-40s, but Pakistan have high hopes for him, and believe that his bowling will consistently win them matches.”(Abbasi).
“A tall, lean fast bowler, Shabbir Ahmed's towering height (6'5") helps him extract a great deal of bounce even on lifeless wickets. He bowls from close to the stumps - much like Glenn McGrath - which allows him to stick to a tight wicket-to-wicket line. He can swing the ball away from right handers with the new ball, and is a good exponent of reverse swing at the later stages of an innings.”(Ahmed). A medium pace bowler with an awkward range of attack. Perplexes batters with variation of speed and range. A few more years of international cricket under his belt would undoubtedly make him one of the world’s elite bowlers.