Pak cricketer Sami's career played out like a 'cruel tragedy': Expert

Islamabad, June 21 (ANI): Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Sami has absorbed little, despite having access to some of the greatest fast bowlers that cricket has ever known, including Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, with whom his career overlapped in its initial two years, said expert Dr. Saad Shafqat.

"Back when he first earned national selection, Sami was being viewed as a new-ball partner alongside Shoaib Akhtar, and even a potential future heir to Pakistan 's hallowed fast-bowling dynasty. But if you track his cumulative Test bowling average and strike rate through time, it paints a despairing picture," Pak Passion quoted Dr. Shafqat, as saying.

"He is incapable of bowling a disguised slower ball, and most of his seam movement appears unintentional. He seldom appears to be executing a plan. The difference between a blank-shooter like Sami and penetrating bowlers like Gul and Anderson is that Sami has not learned the fine skill of wicket-taking, which at core is a complex psychological art," he said.

"Sami's career has played out like a cruel tragedy. Speed has masked his foibles, and it has deceived the selectors as well as the fans again and again. Despite proximity and access to some of the greatest fast bowlers that the sport of cricket has ever known, including Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis with whom his career overlapped in its initial two years, Sami has absorbed little. A long series of well-meaning coaches and captains have also tried to help him improve, but to little avail," he added. (ANI)