Jan packs punch with both hands
By swapping arms, a bowler can vary more greatly the angle of his delivery and adapt tactics depending on whether he is facing a right or left-handed batsman.
Lahore, Oct. 20: A greengrocer's son who can bowl at pace with either arm is causing excitement in Pakistan as he targets a spot on the national team.
Yasir Jan, 21, can generate around 145 kilometres (90 miles) per hour with his right arm and 135 kph with his left, making him a unique talent.
Even in a country with a history of cricket innovations, such as the reverse sweep and reverse swing, Jan has set tongues wagging.
“Yasir has been an amazing talent,” said his coach Muhammad Salman, tipping him as a definite prospect for the Pakistan Super League’s Lahore Qalandars team which has snapped him up on a 10year-contract.
By swapping arms, a bowler can vary more greatly the angle of his delivery and adapt tactics depending on whether he is facing a right or lefthanded batsman.
“It is an advantage. As a captain when you have right-handed and lefthanded batsmen batting then you have a luxury to have a bowler who can bowl with both,” said Salman, a former Pakistan batsman. “There are no restrictions that a bowler can bowl with two hands in an over.”
Jan’s talent was uncovered in a Rawalpindi U19s match, when the batting side was running away with the game and his captain turned to him and made an unusual request.
“We’re already going down. Why don’t you bowl left-handed?” Jan, now 21, recalls his captain saying. After a barren opening spell as a right-armer, he made the switch and shocked the opposition en route to his first four-for.
“The coaches were also shocked. They said, ‘What’s this kid doing?!” he recalls.
His special skill then hit the headlines during a talent hunt for the Lahore Qalandars conducted by former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed.
Jan’s chest-on action emulates his current idol, South Africa’s Dale Steyn.
— AFP