Shaheen And Co. Picked 24 Wickets At An Avg Of 60 -How True Is Wasim Akram's Claim?

Bhargav Dixit

Wasim Akram hasn't minced his words of late. [Source: @wasimakramlive & @RichKettle07/X]Wasim Akram hasn't minced his words of late. [Source: @wasimakramlive & @RichKettle07/X]

History will remember former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram as one of the greatest to have played the sport of cricket. However, on another planet, Akram could’ve easily been a comedian with houseful shows. That Punjabi is my mother tongue further allows me to grin from ear to ear at Akram’s analysis.

Jokes apart, this is not to typecast Akram as a sarcastic analyst. In fact, the Pakistani legend is esteemed enough to not get typecast by someone as inconsequential as myself. That being said, his recent severe criticism of Pakistani bowlers has it in it to be analyzed.

All over my social media feeds since Pakistan’s 6-wicket ICC Champions Trophy 2025 loss to India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, let us make a deep dive into numbers to see if Pakistani bowlers have picked 24 ODI wickets at an average of 60 this year or not.

Pakistani Bowlers’ Performance In 2025

Despite being touted as future greats, Pakistan fast bowlers namely Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf haven’t justified all the early hype around their respective careers. Notwithstanding the occasional game-changing performances in bilateral series, them not firing together as a unit in ICC events is a source of concern.

As Akram said, it is entirely true that Pakistani bowlers have picked 24 wickets across five ODIs this year. While 24 wickets are the eighth-highest among the 14 teams who have played this format in 2025, an average of 60.75 is the second-worst (only better than Afghanistan’s 63).

In this period, Pakistan’s economy rate of 6.13 is the third-worst behind Afghanistan (6.30) and England (6.92). On the other hand, a strike rate of 59.4 is only better than Afghanistan (60) and Bangladesh (69.5).



Therefore, Akram was absolutely correct in pointing out how Pakistani bowlers have been bettered by bowlers from non-Test Playing nations such as Namibia, USA and Oman. Having said that, a primary reason behind the same is those three nations playing several low-scoring ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 matches in Al Amerat.

Are Pakistani Batters Also At Fault?

Yes, to a large extent. On paper, Pakistani batters’ 1,290 runs this year puts them third on the list behind India (1,342) and New Zealand (1,898).

Having said that, an average of 30 sees them at the sixth spot. Moreover, a strike rate of 88.23 further drops them by a position. For context, Zimbabwean batters have scored runs at a better average and strike rate in 2025.



All in all, one of the major reasons behind Pakistan’s towering criticism after 2025 Champions Trophy elimination is their overall performances in the recent global tournaments. Last among all World Test Championship 2023-2025 teams, Pakistan have failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the last three ICC tournaments.

Furthermore, as defending champions and hosts, their fans were well within the rights to have bigger expectations. But as they say, expectations hurt especially when you tie your happiness to the fulfilment of them.