Gone with the bend

KARACHI: Pakistan’s series loss to Bangladesh, their first in history, was somewhat expected considering the number of changes made to the squad after the World Cup.

The recognisable faces of senior players Shahid Afridi and Misbahul Haq gave way to the new legs of Saad Nasim and Azhar Ali, while Waqar Younis’ request ensured that there was no place for one of the top performers of the country in recent times — Ahmed Shehzad.

With the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) eager to bring in new players, veteran Younus Khan was also rested, while the likes of Umar Akmal and Nasir Jamshed were axed.

If this was not enough to change the dynamics of the side, Muhammad Irfan, Sohaib Maqsood, Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan and Ehsan Adil were all struck by injuries.

So even despite the embarrassment of the series defeat, which can still turn into a whitewash, the team can be excused for being in a transition period. However, the inclusion of Saeed Ajmal continues to baffle fans and experts like the bowler once baffled batsmen.

The selection committee should be asked by the board regarding the basis of Ajmal’s selection, who is yet to perform in domestic cricket with his ‘remodelled’ action.

While Rahat Ali labouring to the crease and Junaid Khan struggling to find his rhythm made for some frustrating viewing, watching Ajmal bowl bordered on the painful.

Ajmal had once been a champion bowler — except for when bowling to Messrs Michael Hussey and Kumar Sangakkara — before he was found to be bowling with a greater than allowed arm flex.

It was expected that the ‘Doosra King’ would struggle with the remodelled action but few would have predicted that his fall from grace would be this dramatic. Ajmal, once the go-to guy for Pakistan’s captains, became a liability for new skipper Azhar Ali.

Once the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahman realised that the off-spinner is not the bowler he once was, they dismantled the 37-year-old.

Ajmal deserves all the respect for being a match-winner for Pakistan over the years, but coming back after clearing his action in a laboratory is one thing and bowling in a competitive international match is another.

There is every chance he might be called again for a chuck when he bowls with a heavy shoulder and elbow.

It may therefore be better for all involved that the PCB grooms a new spinner for the future — may it be an off-spinner, a leg-spinner or a left-arm spinner — instead of trying to reinvent Ajmal.

Investing more money and time would be unwise because even in the unlikely scenario that Ajmal does improve, he is nearing the twilight of his career and cannot be expected to last much longer.

The magic of Ajmal is gone with the bend and Pakistan need someone with the same X-factor. The selectors need not look much further than 23-year-old Shahzaib Ahmed, who has the required bag of tricks to become Ajmal’s heir.

Shahzaib has got a flipper, a leg-spin that drifts into the right-hander and a potent googly —a delivery sorely missing from Yasir Shah’s armoury. It is time Pakistan invest in Shahzaib so that he can become a match-winner.

Pakistan have already lost both the series and their biggest bowling X-factor, but there are still a lot of positives that can emerge from this series. Shahzaib’s introduction into international cricket may just be one of them.

 

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