Table of Contents
The South African Cricket Team is touring Pakistan after 14 long years for two Test match series and three Twenty20 International series. The series is promised to be an exciting one with two quality Test sides going against each other.
Both Pakistan and South Africa have produced so many quality cricketers. From South African greats such as Greame Pollock, Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, AB de Villiers, Jacque Kallis, Greame Smith, Makhanya Ntini to Pakistan greats such as Imran Khan, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam ul-Haq etc.
Now we will look at top six bowlers that will catch our eyes. We will pick three each from Pakistan and three each from South Africa.
1. Shaheen Afridi
The tall left-arm fast bowler will now be leading Pakistan’s pace attack after Mohammad Abbas was dropped from the squad. Shaheen Afridi has been Pakistan’s best bowler in the past 24 months across all formats. His ability to swing in/away to right/left handers at a good measurement can cause difficulties for the opposition. If there is one bowler South Africa needs to cope with early in the innings, its Afridi.
2. Kagiso Rabada
Kagiso Rabada has been the leader of South Africa’s pace attack for quite some time now, after Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander not available in the longest format of the game. With three wickets away from his 200th Test wicket, Rabada averages in 22s with the ball. He will be the first threat Pakistan needs to be vary of.
3. Yasir Shah
Pakistan’s premier spin bowler, Yasir Shah was the top wicket-taker by a spinner in 2020. He bowled brilliantly on difficult tours of England and New Zealand, picking 14 wickets. Now with a bigger challenge at hand, Yasir will need to bowl well against a good South African side.
4. Keshav Maharaj
Keshav Maharaj being the lone spinner in South Africa side often comes up with fine performances. Though his average shows 34, he will still be a good threat with his slow left-arm spin. A fellow spinner added in the squad in Tabraiz Shamsi and if these two paired up, they can trouble Pakistan’s batting line-up.
5. Hasan Ali
Hasan Ali was dropped from Pakistan squad after the horrible match against India in the 2019 World Cup and he was seen nowhere near the side since. For 18 months, Hasan went back and performed at the domestic level, where he picked wickets after wickets. In the recent Quaid-e-Azam trophy, he picked 43 wickets at an average of 20 and scored 273 runs, including a century in the final where the match was tied. Now coming back, Hasan will be willing to go and perform for Pakistan the way he used to do.
6. Lungi Ngidi
The young Lungi Ndigi quickly gained recognition from the cricket world with his good line and length. Averaging 25 with 22 wickets so far in his short career, Ndigi showed promise with his performance when he made his debut against India in 2018. Pakistan needs to be careful how they approach the bowler.
Read more: PAK vs SA: Top 6 batsmen to watch out for
