ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Shaheen Afridi to Rashid Khan - The 'Famous 5' who can doom the batters

Pakistani pacer Wahab Riaz's striking over to former Australian opener Shane Watson at the Adelaide Oval during the 2015 ICC World Cup will perpetually be etched in the memory of those lucky to glimpse raw aggression at its best. The famous punch line "Pace is Pace Yaar" was brooked after Wahab's over, and its easygoing English translation would signify natural pace is the real deal. As we move towards the main round (Super 12) of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at the business end of the Australian winter, the pace will rule the perch, although, on scarcely sluggish wickets, fuller lengths will be equally necessary.

While spinners will likely play a crucial role on the Australian wickets, despite the dripping weather, those with alarming pace will provide an x-factor, as there would always be an adequate bounce. The PTI looks at five bowlers who can make a difference for their respective sides. With no Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian line-up, the Men In Blue might be missing a trick.

And, despite senior seamer Mohammed Shami's intelligence in the warm-up match against Australia in Brisbane, the bowling crew doesn't motivate much belief. Hence, there are no Indian bowlers in the list despite their ability being unmistakable, and on their day, they could undoubtedly get the best out.

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Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan)
He is the 'Crown Prince' of world cricket's speed merchants. He is coming back from a severe knee injury. But, how he got Afghanistan's flashy opener Rahmanullah Gurbaaz's leg before showed that he has picked up from where he left before his injury.

There was no rustiness as the yorker landed flush on the left toe of Gurbaz, who couldn't even bring his bat down. Irfan Pathan would always tell anyone who would like to listen that if a left-arm seamer gets the back into the right-hander, it's terrible news for the batter.

Shaheen finished the last T20WC game against India in his opening spell. There will be the pace, and at that pace, he will get to swing the ball. India has three right-handers in the top three, all world-class players. But even then, Shaheen will start the contest as the favourite to win the battle.

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Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
Josh Hazlewood is the unacknowledged hero of this Australian cricket team. While Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are bonafide stars in their rights, Hazlewood's discipline gives Aaron Finch's team the cutting edge that separates them from the pack. He may not be as fast as his contemporaries, but he is deceptively quick enough to create trouble.

Also, Hazlewood is any batter's nightmare, hitting the ideal Test match length and probing batters on that off-stump channel with an extra touch bounce and just enough lateral movement. An economy rate of 7.62 in the 37 games in the slam-bang version is more than good enough, but more importantly, 53 wickets with four four-wicket hauls are unparalleled.

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Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand)
He is one bowler who is perhaps born to play T20 cricket. He has copious amounts of sustained aggression, extreme pace and enough variations to be effective on any surface. He has fast, low full-toss, and one needs extreme explosive power to get under that ball and tonk it over.

Eight out of 10 times, the batter won't be able to get away as the extra pace does the trick. His yorker is mean, and Ferguson bowls a pretty lethal bouncer too. He has variations in his short balls; if need be, he uses slow cutters to good effect. An economy rate of 6.84 in 21 T20Is is brilliant. One of his strengths is adaptability, and one saw that during Gujarat Titans' IPL triumph, he played a significant role on flat decks across Indian centres.

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Mark Wood (England)
Just a little information can send shivers down any batter's spine. Less than a month ago, Mark Wood clocked 156 km/h (nearly 97 m/h) on a tranquil deck at the National Stadium in Karachi. When Mark Wood bowls, there would be batters who would be happy to survive without a broken bone.

If any pace bowler in world cricket, other than Bumrah, can take the pitch out of the equation, it is Wood. His pace is frightening, and ask Haider Ali, who fended awkwardly in that game trying to avoid a broken nose when a sharp bouncer climbed up on him viciously.

If the flip side to Wood's pace is his high economy rate (over 8.37), the positive side is his strike rate of getting wickets every 14 deliveries. While a ramp shot off his bowling can go for six, Wood will always keep the third man in the business. For some other bowlers, it might fall short, but in the case of Wood, there would always be a chance of a catch on the boundary ropes. For England skipper Jos Buttler, as long as Wood gets him two top-order wickets per game, he won't mind him conceding 35 to 38 runs in his quota of overs.

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Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
By the time Rashid Khan is done with his career, he will break all the Twenty20 (T20) bowling records, whether in franchise cricket in which he is one of the MVPs or international cricket for Afghanistan. That he has played for 20-plus teams in the shortest formats (T20 and T10) shows how desperately teams want him.

The 118 wickets he has taken from 71 matches, at an economy rate of less than 6.5, is mind-boggling. While many teams are trying to play him as an off-spinner, letting his stock delivery come in, the crafty Afghan of late has dramatically varied his pace. He is conscious, sometimes trying to be slower through the air and let the ball hang and then dip occasionally.

Rashid played for the new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans (GT) this season, and despite batters trying to play his quota of overs out, he still managed 19 wickets. At the national level, at times, the inexperience of his bowling unit does take a toll on Rashid, but he is still Afghanistan's 'One Man Army' fated for transcendence.

(With inputs from PTI)