Fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani has once again suffered an injury and has been ruled out of the second tour match of Pakistan Shaheens in Darwin, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed.
PCB says that the medical panel will assess the nature of his injury on his return to Pakistan. All-rounder Mubasar Khan has been included in the white ball squad instead.
Pakistan Shaheens won the first match by 148 runs against Bangladesh.
Chairman Selection Committee for the national cricket team, Wahab Riaz, is facing criticism for calling fast bowler Shahnawaz Dhani’s behavior inappropriate.
While speaking on a Geo News on Thursday, Wahab Riaz said, “There were complaints about Shahnawaz Dhani’s behaviour, that he did not want to bowl during net practice and tried to avoid it.’
The pacer was defended by former Local Government Minister of Sindh and leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Nasir Hussain Shah. “The management should not make such statements about the players. Shahnawaz Dhani is an excellent bowler, he was also the man of the match in the final of the National Cup. Surprisingly, you are calling Shahnawaz Dhani unfit,” the PPP leader said to Geo Super.
Social media was also up in arms about Wahab Riaz’s criticism of the beloved bowler. Here is how social media is reacting;
In the match played between Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in the President’s Cup 2023, fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani, who played for SNGPL, made his debut in the tournament and got the first hat trick. His hat trick included the wickets of Ramiz Aziz, Mohammad Imran, and Kashif Bhatti.
Shahnawaz Dahani’s hat-trick in the President’s Trophy #PresidentsTrophy pic.twitter.com/NQTKXncGqg
— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) December 28, 2023
Not only did he take his first hat-trick, he also took five wickets in an innings for the first time in first-class cricket. The SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) batting line-up was in trouble when the fast bowler took a brilliant hat trick. At that time State Bank scored 133 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 45 overs.
The 25-year-old fast bowler has faced limited opportunities in international cricket due to recent injuries.
Shahnawaz Dahani, Pakistan’s ace fast-medium pacer, has opened up about a viral video featuring the cricketer on the streets of Zimbabwe, singing a famous African traditional song with local children.
Recently, the Pakistan Shaheens toured Zimbabwe for two Test matches and six One Day Internationals (ODIs), winning both test matches while Zimbabwe emerged victorious in four out of six ODI matches. These were unofficial matches held in Harare.
The most interesting part of the series was Shahnawaz Dahani’s lively moments on the streets of Zimbabwe with African kids singing their traditional songs in the African Shona language.
While speaking exclusively to “The Current Life”, Shahnawaz Dahani was asked if he loves spending time with children and the story behind the viral video, as well as how he learned the language.
“I love spending time with children as they are the future of Pakistan. They watch us and learn from us, and they have dreams just like we did in our childhood. The same goes for the Zimbabwean kids. They enjoy watching us, and we also enjoy their company,” the bowler said.
“I learned the language in just 30 days. I observed and watched them closely to understand what they were saying, and I quickly picked up the language.
My teammates were amazed at how I learned the language, and although they tried, they failed. The credit goes to me for learning the African Shona language in just 30 days,” Dhani stated.
Zimbabwean kids really like cricket and follow Pakistan, the pacer explained, adding that it motivated him to learn their language. “If you have passion, you can easily accomplish difficult and seemingly impossible things,” he remarked.
When asked how many languages Shahnawaz Dahani can speak, he replied, “I try to learn as many as I can. I love learning languages and new things. I can speak five to six languages.”
Multan Sultans’ pacer Shahnawaz Dahani’s brother Makhmoor Ali Dahani opened up about their mother’s admiration for cricket legend Shahid Afridi and how she compared her son with Afridi.
In a tweet, Makhmoor said, “Our mother doesn’t know about anything about cricket, but if you ask her what does his son [Shahnawaz Dahani] do, her reply would be that my son plays like Afridi.” He further reveals that their mother only knows Afridi in cricket.
The comment from Dahani’s mother came after former Pakistan cricket team captain Afridi lauded “champions” Multan Sultans for their outstanding performance against Lahore Qalandars in Play Off. While talking about Dahani, he wrote: “So pleased to see Dahani deliver to his incredible potential today just the way he performed last year.”
Dahani responded by saying that “It’s always pleasing to receive an appreciation from a legend like you Lala!”
Defending champions Multan Sultans has reached the final in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 7 for the second consecutive time.
Before the Qualifier match, Afridi advised Dahani to focus on his game rather than wasting time on celebrations.
Former Pakistan cricket team captain Shahid Afridi has praised young Multan Sultans’ pacer Shahnawaz Dahani for his performance in the Qualifier match of Pakistan Super League (PSL). Sultans defeated Lahore Qalandars with 28 runs to reach the Final for the second consecutive time on Wednesday at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Taking to Twitter, Afridi lauded “champions” Multan Sultans for their outstanding performance. While talking about Dahani, he wrote: “So pleased to see Dahani deliver to his incredible potential today just the way he performed last year.”
Replying to Afridi, Dahani said: “It’s always pleasing to receive an appreciation from a legend like you Lala @SAfridiOfficial bhai. Thank you so much for your wishes for our team @MultanSultans & kind words for me.”
Before the Qualifier match, Afridi had advised Dahani to focus on his game rather than wasting time on celebrations. “First you do something in life and then celebrate like that. It will have more impact then,” Afridi said on Samaa TV.
Dahani picked up three crucial wickets of Harry Brook (13), Phil Salt (1) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (1) to finish with figures three of 19. He was given Player of the Match award for his outstanding figures.
He also took a sublime catch of Samit Patel to bring the match closer into Sultans’ grasp.
Now the Sultans will take Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi or Lahore Qalandars in the final of PSL 2022 on February 27.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer and Pakistan cricket team coach Waqar Younis took to his Twitter to laud the young pacer.
“Impossible to catch Dhani @ShahnawazDahani when he’s on the roll. Wonderful spell of bowling and exceptional energy on the field,” Waqar wrote.
Waqar also congratulated Multan and Mohammad Rizwan for reaching the Final.
A video of umpire Aleem Dar failing to stop Multan Sultans’ fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani from celebrating a wicket against Quetta Gladiators during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 fixture in Lahore is viral.
It is pertinent to mention here that the right-arm pacer bagged two wickets in their one-sided fixture.
The video sees Shahnawaz Dahani dismissing Naseem Shah. Just when he took off, Aleem Dar came in front of the pacer to stop him.
However, Aleem’s efforts went in vain and he was seen smiling at the end.
Netizens came up with some hilarious comments about the funny moment.
While sharing his thoughts on Twitter, Dahani wrote: “Thinking of giving a try for 400 meters in Paris @Olympics 2024. @Balochbolt what do you say??”
Dahani bagged two wickets and conceded 22 runs from his three overs. All of his dismissals were clean bowled.
He is at sixth position in the list of highest wicket-takers in this year’s competition with 12 breakthroughs from eight games at a bowling average of 22.00.
Meanwhile, Multan beat Quetta Gladiators by 117 runs later in the game.
A video clip from a match between Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans has been circulating on social media in which Sultans’ captain Mohammad Rizwan can be seen diving to catch the bowl but he ended up colliding with pacer Shahnawaz Dahani. Though the catch was safely taken by Dahani, netizens cannot stop praising both Rizwan and the 23-year-old speedster for their dedication and perfection.
In the video, we see Kamran Akmal hitting the ball in the air off Blessing Muzarabani’s bowling. The wicket-keeper-batter and the pacer were both getting under it to take the catch.
Even the Sultans’ all-rounder Khushdil Shah shared the video on Twitter and said that he loved the reaction of Dahani after catching the ball.
One of the users termed Sultans as the “cutest team to exist”.
One user said: “Really loved the reaction of Rizwan, many could have lost it at that moment but he showed once again why he is a very good leader.”
While former cricketer Azhar Mahmood’s wife Ebba Qureshi said that she can watch this video on loop.
Multan took their unbeaten streak to six wins from as many games by securing a 42-run win over Peshawar Zalmi in Lahore.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to mention here that Sultans became the first team to qualify for the play-offs in the ongoing seventh edition of the PSL.
The defending champions kicked off their PSL 7 campaign from where they left last season, and till now they are the only team to have defended successfully. They are comfortably sitting at the top of the table with 12 points.
The Sultans’ players also took to Twitter to celebrate their sixth consecutive win in the league.
A video of the young Pacer of Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans, Shahnawaz Dahani, is doing the rounds on social media in which he can be seen cleaning the chairs in the pavilion at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Sultan’s right-handed fast bowler Dahani has been unable to impress the fans with his bowling in the seventh edition of the league but the young pacer is known for his humble nature and unique celebrations on the field. The cricketer is also termed as “foreign minister” for his good relations with the foreign players in the PSL.
During the first practice session of Multan Sultans at the Gaddafi Stadium, Dahani was seen cleaning chairs while batter Sohaib Maqsood captured the moment on his camera and uploaded the video on social media, reported Geo News.
Dahani has only managed to take five wickets for Sultans in the tournament so far. His best spell was against Peshawar Zalmi in which he amassed three wickets, conceding 41 runs. He was highly criticised in the match against Quetta Gladiators in which he conceded 33 runs in two overs. He was also expensive against Lahore Qalandars and conceded 44 runs in his four overs.
Dahani, however, was the highest wicket-taker for Sultans in the sixth edition of PSL. He took 20 wickets in 12 matches.
Young pacer from Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans Shahnawaz Dahani on Monday failed to impress fans with his bowling figures and the recent spanking in the match against Quetta Gladiators pushed him in hot waters as Pakistani Twitter is discussing if Dahani is overrated.
Dahani was less accurate in the penultimate over and fortunate not to see more slot balls dispatched, leaking 15 in his six deliveries. While he conceaded 33 runs in his two overs.
We have collected some reactions of the Twitterati, where they are discussing that if the young pacer needs to improve his game while some are suggesting to give him another chance. Have a look:
David Willey’s last over wickets and Shan Masood’s 88-run knock sealed the deal for the Sultans. The Gladiators were smelling victory in the last over as they needed eight runs from six balls, but Willey did not let them get the better of the Sultans at the National Stadium.
Willey dismissed two players, Sohail Tanvir (13) and Naseem Shah (1) to take Sultans to a 6-run victory, as Gladiators were all-out at 168, with a ball remaining.
Khushdil Shah, Willey, and Imran Tahir picked up three wickets.
Earlier, in the match against Lahore Qalandars, the pacer from Larkana had conceaded 44 runs in his 4 overs, taking only one wicket.