Wasim Khan: “He spoke to his family and they said ‘this is where your mum would have wanted you to be'”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan has revealed that pace bowler Naseem Shah didn’t return home from Australia after the death of his mother as his family told him “this is where your mum would have wanted you to be”.

Wasim also noted that in Islamic culture, people are usually buried within 24 hours of passing away, and added that it would have taken Naseem, who is only 16, two days to get back to Pakistan.

“We spoke to him about actually going home. But in terms of the Muslim religion, we bury very quickly, within 24 hours of somebody passing away. His mum passed away I think on the Tuesday of last week, and it would have taken him two days to get home,” Wasim was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

“He spoke to his family and they said ‘this is where your mum would have wanted you to be’. He’s had a lot of support around him, with Waqar [Younis] and Misbah [Ul-Haq]. Everyone has rallied around him, keeping a close eye on him, making sure he’s OK.

“He’s got a few confidantes in the team that he can go to if he’s feeling low or not feeling great. He wanted to stick it out.”

Naseem, who has a significant amount of hype around him, stole the spotlight with his fiery spell on the final day of Pakistan’s practice match against Australia A in Perth.

The 16-year-old dismissed opening batsman Marcus Harris for 20 and ended up finishing with figures of 1-21 off eight overs.

However, he went wicketless in Pakistan’s practice game against the Cricket Australia XI, where he conceded 58 runs off the 12 overs he bowled.

He is now set to make his international debut in the first Test against Australia in Brisbane on Thursday.
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