Shinwari reveals reason for Pakistan’s failure on foreign tours

Left-arm fast bowler Usman Khan Shinwari believes that Pakistan’s domestic cricket structure need some changes if they are to compete against a team like Australia in the future.

Shinwari — who has represented Melbourne Renegades in the ongoing session of the Big Bash League (BBL) — said that he had a great learning experience while playing in Australia.

“Make no mistake, the standard of domestic cricket is very good in Pakistan, but we lack some of the facilities that players in Australia take for granted,” said Shinwari while talking to PakPassion. “Whilst we have a lot of talented players who play domestic cricket in Pakistan, I feel that our domestic cricket at the moment is not as competitive as it is in Australia and that needs to be improved for us to become competitive on foreign tours.”

Shinwari was extremely economical during his seven-game run in the BBL where he bagged eight wickets, and the Landi Kotal-born pacer expressed his delight after taking part in that completion for the first time.

“This was an exciting time for me as this was my first experience of playing in the BBL,” he said. “It was very enjoyable and a great learning experience as the quality of cricket being played in the BBL was excellent and the games were highly competitive.”

The 25-year-old also went on to reveal that he feels ‘lucky’ after taking part in leagues like BBL and Pakistan Super League (PSL).

“I consider myself lucky that I have had the chance to play in both PSL and the BBL, which are very high-class T20 tournaments,” he said. “Whilst PSL is a newer competition, the BBL has been around for a while but it’s difficult to say which is better as both tournaments present different challenges and as far as I am concerned, PSL and BBL are both excellent competitions for players to learn new skills.”

Shinwari also caught the attention of cricket fans after bowling a delivery clocked at 151kph in the time when Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has criticised his bowlers for bowling at an average speed during the recently concluded Test series against South Africa.

Commenting on his specific spell against Melbourne Stars, the left-arm pacer said, “In the game against Stars, I was able to bowl that 151kph delivery as I was feeling that my rhythm was very good. Throughout that spell, I was saying to myself to bowl at the fastest speed I could and thankfully that worked and I produced that really quick delivery.”

He added: “If there is one bowler who I consider my role model, then that is Shoaib Akhtar. I especially loved the way he could bowl at such quick speeds and take wickets, and that is what I am also trying to do every time I come in to bowl.”

The Karachi Kings pacer also went on to express his desire of representing the Green Caps in the longest format of the game by saying: “If you ask any top-class player, they will say that the real challenge for any cricketer lies in Test cricket and I also believe that. I would really like to play Test cricket for Pakistan one day and that remains my aim. However, I also know I have to work very hard to achieve that goal but God Willing, I hope to be selected for the Pakistan Test squad in the future.”