Shaheen Shah Afridi’s ODI revival: less pace, more purpose

Shaheen Shah Afridi’s international career has rarely followed a straight line. Early promise, a sharp rise, injury interruptions, omissions from Test and T20I squads and a brief, turbulent spell as T20I captain have all formed part of the story. Yet the most significant recent development is not another setback but a quietly effective ODI resurgence — one that arrives with Pakistan beginning to think seriously about the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.

The numbers tell a clear story. In nine ODI innings this year, Shaheen has taken 18 wickets at 18.55, with a strike rate of 22.5 and an economy rate of 4.93. He has produced one four-wicket haul and has been wicketless only once. That consistency marks a substantial change from 2025, when he managed 16 wickets in 12 innings at an average of 39.18 and an economy rate of 6.25. The difference is not merely one of luck or opposition; it reflects a bowler who has adjusted his method.

The improvement began against Australia at home. Shaheen finished that series as joint-leading wicket-taker with seven scalps at 12.14 and an economy rate of 3.86. In the second and third ODIs, he produced spells of three wickets apiece that helped restrict Australia to modest totals and underpinned Pakistan’s series victory. He has carried that form into the ongoing home tri-series, where he has seven wickets at 19.57 and an economy rate of 5.34 from three matches, placing him second on the wicket-taking list.

Shaheen’s principal asset has always been his ability to move the new ball. Last year, however, he did not take enough powerplay wickets and leaked runs while searching for movement. He claimed four wickets at 63 apiece across 47 overs in that phase, with an economy rate of 5.36 and a false-shot rate of 28.72 per cent. This year, he has seven powerplay scalps at 25.71, an economy rate of 5.14 and a false-shot rate of 33.81 per cent. The improvement is not accidental.

After injuries and breaks, Shaheen lost some of the pace that had once made his new-ball spells so intimidating. That loss affected his ability to combine movement with speed, and on flat surfaces he sometimes seemed reluctant to pitch the ball fuller in pursuit of swing. He has since acknowledged that his speed has decreased and argued that Pakistan need wickets more than raw pace, with Haris Rauf and Razaqullah capable of supplying the latter.

The response has been a deliberate return to fuller lengths. In 2026, roughly 19.52 per cent of his deliveries have been full-length, yielding three wickets at 17.66 and a false-shot rate of 39.02 per cent. Last year, only 7.80 per cent of his balls were full-length; that approach brought him a solitary wicket and a false-shot rate of 18.18 per cent. By pitching the ball up, Shaheen has given himself the best chance of finding movement in the air, even without the express pace of his earlier years.

His latest spell against England in Rawalpindi offered a clear example. Shaheen bowled fuller and angled the ball across Tom Banton and Joe Root, forcing the right-handers to drive or play square. A hint of movement was enough to remove two in-form batters, and England were behind in the first innings despite Ben Duckett’s century. He had employed a similar method against Australia earlier in the year.

Shaheen remains a rhythm bowler. Once he takes an early wicket, his threat grows sharply, and his value to Pakistan extends beyond his own figures. A wicket-taking Shaheen eases the burden on the rest of the attack, while his left-arm angle creates a different dimension with the new ball. Pakistan’s bowling unit looks considerably more dangerous when he is striking in the powerplay.

South Africa should suit him. The 2027 World Cup will be played in conditions where pacers can expect early movement, and Shaheen has already shown an aptitude for the country: 19 wickets at 26.10 in 10 innings, including a series-leading haul when Pakistan toured in 2024. Teams with stronger bowling attacks are likely to prosper in South Africa, and Pakistan’s historical success in the format has often depended on their bowlers doing heavy lifting.

Shaheen now carries the additional responsibility of leading Pakistan in ODIs, and he has handled the dual role reasonably well so far. There remain concerns, notably the need to identify reliable backups and to ensure the attack does not depend too heavily on one bowler. But those issues become far more manageable if Shaheen maintains his current form.

For Pakistan, the encouraging sign is not simply that Shaheen is taking wickets again. It is that he has found a method suited to the bowler he is now rather than the one he once was. Less pace, more purpose: it may prove to be exactly what Pakistan need.