6 Takeaways From the Pakistan-Australia ODI Series

#3 Pakistan’s Bowling

Usman Shinwari emerged as a leading strike bowler for Pakistan in this series

There were two interesting names in Pakistan’s bowling line-up for this series – Mohammed Abbas and Yasir Shah. Both these men have been key figures in Pakistan’s Test team.

The selectors decided to rest Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali – two regulars in the ODI set-up – and give these men an opportunity to replicate their Test success in the shorter format also. The results are not entirely clear.

Yasir Shah’s performance was a mixed bag. There were some good wickets but overall, the leggie didn’t set the stage on fire. Similarly, Abbas also bowled some good spells but seemed a shadow of the bowler he is in the five-day game.

So, the selectors are still unsure about their future in ODIs. Hasan Ali will be back in the team for the World Cup, so will Shadab Khan. Abbas and Yasir are the same type of bowlers as Ali and Shadab, respectively. Can Pakistan afford to have two pairs of bowlers offering, essentially, the same thing? We don’t know.

On the other hand, Usman Shinwari has emerged as a very potent one-day bowler. He has been in the ODI side for some time with decent efforts on his part. But this series saw him emerge as a leading strike bowler who utilized his left-arm angle superbly.

Another bowler who improved his stock was Imad Wasim. His left-arm bowling in this series was very useful and makes him the sort of reliable support bowler that most teams in the world want.

The likes of Junaid Khan and Mohammad Hasnain had ambiguous results. The latter was keenly watched due to his reputation for bowling high-speeds but it is clear that he is not yet the finished article.

Mohammad Amir remains a problem for Pakistan. In spite of his potential, the recent form of this left-armer hasn’t been encouraging. He and Junaid Khan will have to do better in the following weeks to ensure their place in the World Cup squad.