Maybe we all went in search of a feelgood story, or maybe Shahnawaz Dahani entered our timeline in a fully formed way. If Kyle Jamieson was carved into a sinister Cantabrian research facility to terrorize, Dahani was made to delight in the Larkana laboratory. In such hyper-polarized times, few in the game – indeed, in all walks of life – have instilled such an immediate, and constant, warmth and goodwill that suddenly finds itself playing the trump card of Multan Sultan. finds in. .
The hype train ruined the first half of the PSL in February and March, when there was legitimately little to be happy about. After a few weeks of relaxation, the Covid-19 cases continued to rise, and no fans were allowed at the National Stadium in Karachi. The bubble, to the extent that one existed, would soon be largely patched, and the entire tournament was called off before the halfway point was reached.
In those early days, the excitement around the six-foot-two pacer seemed to be a passing fad, and maybe even a bit. He was taking wickets regularly - nine in his first four games - but he was also very expensive; Any person who scored more than 10.33 runs for the number of overs he bowled. The sample size was too small, anyway, and the decision to include him for Pakistan's tour of Zimbabwe - the test leg, no less - seemed more than a little reactionary based on the excitement generated in the Sultans' resplendent kit. (Chief selector Muhammad Wasim insisted his inclusion in the first-class matches played earlier that season was stressed; pay attention to your blood pressure before taking that claim with more than a pinch of salt.)
The first game in Abu Dhabi, where Dahani was torn down for 46 in four, seemed a regression to the mean. But since then, the 22-year-old has enjoyed a purple patch he would do well to replicate in a career that, at current evidence, has a long way to go. His strike rate, already impressive at 11.6 balls per wicket in Karachi, has taken his strike rate to 10 in Abu Dhabi, the fourth-best of all players to take 20 wickets in a season across all leagues. This happened as he followed that first game by taking 11 wickets in his next four, which included a T20 spell for the ages to knock out Lahore Qalandars, taking four for five in three overs and this year K became the leading wicket-taker in the PSL.
It was not that Qalandar was unaware of how to deal with it; Qalandar has shown himself to be ignorant about many things over the years. Dahani has shown over the past fortnight that he recognizes what it takes to be intelligent, quality T20 bowling, and on his day, executes it to a tee. The joy is not only in the obvious, startling form when he takes a wicket, or the celebration that only bears a striking resemblance to the hotline bling dance. It also stems from appreciating the pace that very thin arms can produce, or the variations of line, length and pace Dahani recognizes for bowling in a format he had never played four months ago.
The most exciting fast bowlers find their reputation forged on the basis of their exploits in the powerplay or on the death, but Dahani has tried to tear apart the opposition in the middle overs. In that phase of the game (7-16 overs), the Sultans ace picks up a wicket every eight balls, especially surprising when you consider that phase a time for the batsmen to get stronger and take theoretically less risk. This is a period when spinners have historically dominated the PSL, but this year, only Rashid Khan took more than Dahani's ten wickets during the middle overs.
This is the best time to use it, as an average of 10.40 and 7.80 will be afforded by the economy. Dahani has also taken six wickets at the time of death, but by this stage, the wickets are not quite the same as before, and the economy is a work in progress rate (11.44). Expect to use up any overs bowled by the Sultans during the middle phase in the Powerplay, where they are least likely to take wickets, with an economy of 6.78 being particularly handy.
But while Sultan remains at the top of his numbers, it will be enough to applaud him, not just those who have helped propel an unknown prospect to national stardom in the span of a few weeks. Dahni's appeal extends far beyond the runs he conceded, when a pre-determined number of men may be fielding inside a 30-yard circle, or at times when all he only understands is that Should they move their fingers on the seam of the cricket ball? His story is a story that every boy or girl who grew up in love with cricket can relate to. Rise through the unknown ranks and take the world by storm. At home, proving doubters wrong at the local cricket club or school coaching staff. Looking, above all, like you're loving every single minute of it.
When Dahani smiles, he brings smiles on people's faces. And while this PSL trophy is exactly what the Sultans crave, it is the feature that holds the greatest currency of all in times like these.