Sajid Khan vs Yasir Shah: Test Wickets & Bowling Comparison

Pakistan's fast bowlers are renowned worldwide for their skills, but some spinners have also brought glory to Pakistan in the world of cricket. Whether it was Abdul Qadir, the master of the leg break and googly, Mushraq Ahmed in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, or later Saqlain Mushtaq, all brought glory to Pakistan in their respective careers. After them, Danish Kaneria became the next bowler to play the role of wicket-taker for Pakistan in Tests.

After the ICC's ban on Danish Kaneria for spot-fixing in 2009, the lack of a spinner was acutely felt in Pakistan. During this period, various players represented Pakistan but no special name emerged. Yasir Shah made his first-class debut in February 2002 FOR ODI’S and T20’s.Then in 2014, Yasir Shah was selected in the Pakistan Test squad. He took 7 wickets in his very first match in Dubai and played a key role in Pakistan's 221-run victory.

Because at that time international cricket was banned in Pakistan, therefore Pakistan played most of its home tours in UAE, and UAE's wicket is spin friendly. Yasir Shah took full advantage of this and became a part of Pakistan's regular team. But unfortunately injuries did not extend Yasir Shah's career much and he could represent Pakistan only in 48 matches. In which he took 244 wickets at a bowling average of 31.38. And in his career he dismissed 5 players in 16 BR innings while in 3 BR matches he dismissed 10 or more players. His best bowling figure was 8/41.

Now the other player we are talking about is the current main bowler of the test team Sajid Khan, who made his debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2021 and dismissed 5 players in his first match. So far, if we look at his overall career, Sajid Khan has taken 69 test wickets in 15 test matches at an average of 30.45, in which his best bowling is 8/42. Sajid has dismissed 4 or 5 or more players in an innings in his career, while he has dismissed 10 players in matches only once so far.

If we compare the careers of Yasir Shah and Sajid Khan, Yasir Shah has had a longer career and has delivered more match-winning performances for Pakistan. Furthermore, Yasir Shah has represented Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is, while Sajid Khan has yet to make his ODI or T20I debut.

Sajid khan vs Yasir shah: A statistical comparison

Yasir is the more classical attacking wrist-spinner, using turn, bounce and deception, while Sajid is a pressure-building off-spinner who combines accuracy with an attacking mindset. Both can be match-winners, but they challenge batsmen in completely different ways—Yasir through wrist-spin variation and unpredictability, and Sajid through sustained pressure, changes in line and length, and attacks on the stumps.