In Naseem Shah’s first-ever T20I, against India, he sent KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja to the pavilion while Shah’s performance thrilled Pakistan pace legend Waqar Younis, who was part of the Pakistan coaching staff when Shah made his Test debut in Australia in 2019.
Pakistan was in great form in the recent Asia Cup in UAE while they played the mega event final against Sri Lanka but unfortunately, lost the game.
Despite the absence of frontline pacer Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan had no difficulty on the fast-bowling front. The 19-year-old pace sensation Naseem Shah ascended to the task in his debut T20 tournament.
In his first ever T20I, against India, he sent KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja to the pavilion. Overall he took seven wickets in five matches at the Asia Cup. Shah’s performance has thrilled Pakistan pace legend, Waqar Younis. Younis was part of the Pakistan coaching staff when Shah made his Test debut in Australia in 2019.
“Everything about him. If you look at Pakistan’s fast bowling battery, few are challenging the top seeds. I felt Naseem shah when I first saw him, was a finished product. A classical action. His opportunity came when (Mohammad) Amir and Wahab (Riaz) pulled out just before the Australia tour. I said ‘take some youngsters and in the coming years, they will be mature.’ He has a perfect run-up, gets to the crease nicely, gets side on really nicely, and hits the deck well. He has got the pace, that is the key thing for me. He has got Dennis Lillee-like action,”
Waqar Younis said in a video posted by Pakistan Cricket Board.
“What I like about him is his follow-through. The way he bends down puts all the pressure on his front leg. He has clean action, the front arm is high. His real improvement in this recent Asia cup is that now he bowls big inswingers with the new ball. The Dubai pitch help his bowling and helped him get confidence as a bowler. He has shown great character under pressure,”
Wasim Akram added.
The upcoming T20 World Cup will be played in Australia, starting from October 16. The tournament high-octane clash between Pakistan and India will be played on October 23. The fans are eagerly waiting for the clash while all eyes will be on Babar Azam and Virat Kohli’s form.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir.
Standby Players: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Standby Players: Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.