Waqar Younis likes what he has seen from very close quarters of youngsters Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi, and feels the future of Pakistan's fast bowling is bright.
Waqar has now worked with Naseem and Shaheen for nearly a year since rejoining the set-up as Pakistan's bowling coach.
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The two were quite impressive in parts during the tour of England where Pakistan lost the Test series 1-0. Waqar thinks bowling on surfaces in Manchester and Southampton, spell after another must've been of huge learning to the young quicks and expects the experience to fasten their development.
"Fast bowling is the trademark of Pakistan cricket," the 48-year-old said for a website column published by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). "There have been so many great ones over the years and I am confident that the future will be bright again."
Waqar, who once formed a celebrated pair with the legendary Wasim Akram, added, "We have seen already that Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi are wonderful bowlers. Muhammad Musa, who was part of the squad in England, is another, and there are a couple in the under-19s also. Of course, Mohammad Abbas is very seasoned and experienced."
On Abbas, the fast bowling great thinks the right-arm seamer has only gone from strength to strength since his county stint.
"I know from personal experience how much you can learn from playing in England, getting used to different weather and ground conditions, the pitches, and life off the field also," Waqar said.
"Both Mohammad Amir (Essex) and Mohammad Abbas (Leicestershire) have been really successful for English counties and it has benefited their careers so much as well."
The Test series was played with bio-secure arrangements and regulations in place amid COVID-19 pandemic. Waqar said the conditions in England helped while adjusting to the new norm, including the ban on usage of saliva on the ball.
"I don’t think it was actually a major issue given the weather. The pitches themselves were very dry but there was always moisture in the air and the outfields were lush so keeping the ball in good condition was not a problem. In other parts of the world, it is always more challenging to keep the ball in good condition."
The Dukes ball stays new for longer and that was bound to help the pacers despite the massive tweak in playing conditions. But their obvious response still was to be slightly wary of consistently pitching the ball up.
Waqar lauded the English manufacturing ball company and said there is a case to be made for the ICC to have only one kind of ball across the globe.
"I have been a big advocate of the Dukes ball for many years but I feel that only one brand of ball should be used around the world for Test cricket."
"It doesn’t matter which brand but the ICC should make that decision. It’s hard for bowlers to adjust to using different types of ball when they play around the world."
Going forward with another difficult tour of New Zealand looming large, Waqar thinks fitness apart from the skillset is an area that his team's pacemen need to uplift.
"It is not just the skills of fast bowling that our young guys need to work on. Fitness is also crucial for them. As a squad, our fitness has been improving all the time but I think we are still a touch behind many other teams in the world. Fast bowlers in Test cricket have to be super fit to survive those long spells when the team needs you, even at the times you may not want to."
"Fast bowling is hard work and it cannot be learned overnight. We all need to be patient with these guys. They have the hunger, attitude and desire and I have got full confidence that they are the future of Pakistan cricket if they carry on the hard work. Continue getting fitter and the skills will blossom," Waqar concluded.
