Delhi: There was a time when there was a big discussion in India about the question that if Pakistan is getting fast bowling bowlers one after the other, then why not India? At that time, Pakistan's fast bowlers were as fast and skilled as the fast bowlers of West Indies, England or Australia. So what happened now that the supply chain of fast bowlers for Pakistan cricket stopped? He is a fast bowler but now his speed is not such that it creates fear in the batsmen of the other team? Where are fast bowlers like Asif Masood, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis now?
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The fast bowlers who have come in recent years are neither as fast nor as skilled as these guys. On this issue, Pakistan cricket experts are considering the increasing workload due to playing in all three formats, frequent injuries and changing methods of training (in which the focus is on short-form T20 cricket training) as the biggest reasons for the huge decline in the speed of fast bowlers. In their best days, Pakistan's fast bowlers could easily reach speeds of 145–150 kmph. In comparison, today's bowlers often bowl at around 130 km per hour. Many big fast bowlers sometimes even reach speeds of 120 km per hour.
1. Excessive workload and wrong fitness management
Shaheen Afridi is the best example on these issues. The decrease in the speed of his ball is due to these reasons. Before suffering a serious knee injury, he was Pakistan's most dangerous fast bowler. After his comeback, there was a steady decline in pace and at times he was seen bowling around 130 kmph and even 120 kmph in red-ball matches.
Now their bowlers are thinking about prolonging their career instead of speed. On top of that, frequent injuries and the hectic schedule of cricket have taught today's fast bowlers to prolong their careers and deliberately not bowl at full strength.
2. More focus on T20 and lack of stamina of bowlers
Former fast bowler and coach Umar Gul says that playing Test cricket has reduced and due to this players are not able to develop the necessary 'muscle memory' and stamina. On the other hand, due to T20, there is more focus on short spells and they have become accustomed to short but fast spells of four overs in T20. As a result, he does not have the physical strength required to maintain a high pace for many long spells in a Test match innings.
3. Focus is more on choosing medium-seamer
In recent teams, selectors have shown greater reliance on traditional 'fast-medium' line-and-length bowlers such as Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas and Khurram Shahzad. As a result, no team has been able to reach the speed of 140 km per hour in international matches. Due to this, that scary pace is not seen in the team.
So what should we consider to be the real reason and what is the answer to the question where has the high speed gone? For many decades, the identity of Pakistan cricket was its fast bowlers. From Fazal Mahmood and Imran Khan to Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan has had better fast bowlers at all times and the supply chain has never stopped. Pakistan's best bowling attacks were famous for their pace, aggression, swing and ability to intimidate the batsmen. Today that identity is missing.
It is not that Pakistan no longer has talented seamers, but the real speed, which regularly exceeded 140 km per hour and sometimes even reached 150, is now rarely seen. This decline is not just a matter of thinking. Recent figures and opinions from former Pakistan greats suggest that the country's famous 'pace factory' is struggling to replicate its traditional performance.
The biggest evidence of this was found during Pakistan's Australia Test tour in 2023-24. In the Perth Test, none of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Khurram Shahzad, Amir Jamal and Faheem Ashraf could cross 140 km/h.
Waqar Younis, who was present there, even expressed concern over this and clearly said that Pakistan is no longer able to produce such fast bowlers who were once the identity of their cricket. When Naseem Shah was young, he used to bowl at around the speed of 140 km per hour and the bowling action was very good. At the age of 16, he proved that he was a special talent by taking a Test hat-trick but due to injuries and setbacks he was unable to achieve the consistency expected of a premier fast bowler.
This became even more clear in the second Test in Cape Town in January 2025. Pakistan's four seamers, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mir Hamza and Aamir Jamal, bowled mostly at speeds of 125 to 132 kmph. Not a single ball was bowled at a speed greater than 140 km per hour. The media described it as a 'medium-fast' attack.
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Pakistan itself believes that getting the pace back from its fast bowlers is an important part of regaining its effective bowling. According to a record, since the beginning of 2022, Pakistan's fast bowlers have given an average of 37.32 runs per wicket (second worst record among Test playing countries) and only Ireland is worse than them.
Since March 2024, Pakistan's fast bowlers have bowled only 0.95 percent of the balls faster than 140 km per hour in Test matches. The records of Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa and India are much better than this.