For once, Pakistan has a selection headache ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. There are a plethora of players waiting on the sidelines to get into the national team and with the current crop of players performing so well, it has been difficult for players in the domestic set up to break into the national T20 side.
Pakistan cricket team is particularly spoilt for choice in the fast bowling department with the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Hasnain, and Faheem Ashraf already in the plans for the T20 team. There are plenty of fast bowlers looking to make a comeback to the team. One such player is Wahab Riaz.
Wahab has not played international cricket for Pakistan since the end of last year despite having an impressive record in the shortest format of the game in various T20 competitions around the world. While Wahab was once an integral part of Pakistan’s limited-overs side, his stocks took a nosedive as Shaheen, Haris and Hasan emerged and formed the core of Pakistan’s fast bowling unit.
The 36-year old recently revealed that his aim is to get back into the national side and has no plans of retiring until at least the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Wahab is adamant that he is still one of the finest bowlers in the country and will prove to be an asset in next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. He said that he is in peak physical condition and is determined to make a comeback to the national side.
With less than a year left for the T20 World Cup, Wahab’s comeback to the team looks more and more likely due to his exceptional record in T20 cricket. Wahab’s experience in T20 cricket and his expertise as a T20 death-overs specialist can prove to be crucial.
According to statistics, Wahab is the best death bowler in the country. He has the most wickets by a Pakistani bowler in death overs since 2018 as he picked up a total of 72 wickets in the last four overs of the innings in T20 cricket. Haris Rauf has 61 wickets, the second-most by a Pakistani, in death overs in T20s during the same period.
Let’s have a look at the best death bowlers in Pakistan:
| Bowler | Number of Balls Bowled | Runs Conceded | Wickets | Economy Rate |
| Wahab Riaz | 878 | 1,275 | 72 | 8.71 |
| Haris Rauf | 653 | 949 | 61 | 8.71 |
| Mohammad Amir | 700 | 1,076 | 54 | 9.22 |
| Shaheen Afridi | 667 | 991 | 54 | 8.91 |
*All T20 cricket since 2018
