Shaheen Afridi steals win but Mohammed Rohid thrives among fast-bowling giants

Unheralded and uncapped UAE prospect stars alongside left-arm greats in DP World ILT20 in Dubai

MI Emirates bowler Mohammed Rohid celebrates a wicket against Desert Vipers in trademark Cristiano Ronaldo style. Photo: DP World ILT20

What is the collective term for a group of left-arm fast-bowling greats? A litany? A leftorium? Or just a Tuesday night in Dubai?

Everyone who is anyone in that community was involved in the DP World International League T20 encounter between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates at Dubai International Stadium.

Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi was the headline act, and ended up sealing a precious win for the Vipers – albeit by scrambling three off the last ball with the bat.

He was joined in a stellar Vipers pace attack by Mohammed Amir, his fellow Pakistani star, and Luke Wood, the emerging one from England. Tymal Mills and Sheldon Cottrell, meanwhile, were warming the bench.

On the other side was the great Trent Boult, plus the Afghan firebrand Fazalhaq Farooqi. As if anymore stardust were required, Wasim Akram was even there commentating.

And in the land of the southpaw giants, the player who shone the brightest was a player so nondescript his ESPNcricinfo profile has yet to list either place or date of birth, and cannot complete a list of 10 most recent matches. It only makes it as far as seven.

Mohammed Rohid is not so much uncapped as almost entirely unknown. He qualifies as a UAE player for the purposes of this tournament, but is not actually eligible for selection for a year or so more.

He plays A Division cricket in the UAE and has signalled his intention to play for the national team in future. That is what allowed him to feature in the ILT20 development tournament last year, via which he was spotted by MI Emirates.

Since getting his chance in the main event, he has thrived. He took three wickets in a game against Abu Dhabi Knight Riders earlier in the tournament, while his game reached a new peak against the Vipers.

It started with him firing out Alex Hales, the England T20 World Cup winning opener, with the type of unplayable inswinger that will have had Wasim himself purring.

The quality of the delivery was not the only thing which got him noticed. He then elaborated on his moment in the limelight by rushing off and executing a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired “siu” celebration.

“I also play football and Cristiano Ronaldo is my favourite player,” Rohid said.

“My friends encouraged me to celebrate like him after getting wickets at the ILT20 and it’s become my style now.

“[Hales] was a big wicket. My plan for this match was to go for the big names and get their wicket.

“We take a good look at the wicket before every game and then the seniors tell me how to bowl according to the pitch. I just do [what they say] and I am glad all’s going well.”

Why all the lefties?

Six of the eight fast bowlers used in the ILT20 match between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates were left-handed. So 75 per cent of those involved.
And that despite the fact 10-12 per cent of the world’s population is said to be left-handed.
It is an extension of a trend which has seen left-arm pacers become highly valued – and over-represented, relative to other formats – in T20 cricket.
It is all to do with the fact most batters are naturally attuned to the angles created by right-arm bowlers, given that is generally what they grow up facing more of.
In their book, Hitting Against the Spin, cricket data analysts Nathan Leamon and Ben Jones suggest the advantage for a left-arm pace bowler in T20 is amplified because of the obligation on the batter to attack.
“The more attacking the batsman, the more reliant they are on anticipation,” they write.
“This effectively increases the time pressure on the batsman, so increases the reliance on anticipation, and therefore increases the left-arm bowler’s advantage.”

Rohid dismissed Adam Hose two balls after, and later added the scalp of Azam Khan, the Pakistan wicketkeeper.

The 21-year-old pacer will be up against the likes of Azam, Shaheen and Amir again next month, having been recruited as a supplementary player by Karachi Kings.

His signing was merely a prosaic detail at the very end of a Pakistan Cricket Board press release announcing Shamar Joseph, the West Indies sensation, is joining the Pakistan Super League.

Rohid’s star might not be burning quite as brightly as Joseph’s just yet, but he is thrilled with the platform he has been given to make a name for himself.

“I am grateful to God first of all,” Rohid said. “I am very happy to play with some great players. I get tremendous support from them, and I am able to perform only because of them

“I really wanted to meet them [Pakistan stars Shaheen, Azam and Amir] but then our team has bowlers like Trent and [Dwayne] Bravo. They have taught me a lot.

“I regularly talk with Boult and Farooqi. They are senior to me, so I learn a lot from them.”

Updated: January 31, 2024, 10:06 AM

Why all the lefties?

Six of the eight fast bowlers used in the ILT20 match between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates were left-handed. So 75 per cent of those involved.
And that despite the fact 10-12 per cent of the world’s population is said to be left-handed.
It is an extension of a trend which has seen left-arm pacers become highly valued – and over-represented, relative to other formats – in T20 cricket.
It is all to do with the fact most batters are naturally attuned to the angles created by right-arm bowlers, given that is generally what they grow up facing more of.
In their book, Hitting Against the Spin, cricket data analysts Nathan Leamon and Ben Jones suggest the advantage for a left-arm pace bowler in T20 is amplified because of the obligation on the batter to attack.
“The more attacking the batsman, the more reliant they are on anticipation,” they write.
“This effectively increases the time pressure on the batsman, so increases the reliance on anticipation, and therefore increases the left-arm bowler’s advantage.”