Mudassar Nazar: “If he continues to play cricket, he will achieve big things for Pakistan as that is the kind of potential he has”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Former Pakistan cricketer Mudassar Nazar believes that teenage pace sensation Naseem Shah “will achieve big things for Pakistan”.

Naseem, 17, holds the record of being the second-youngest bowler to take a five-for and the youngest to claim a hat-trick in Test cricket.

Most recently, he represented the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and took five wickets in six matches at an average of 32.40.

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“Naseem Shah was another talented pacer we saw earlier in his career at the NCA but he had issues with his bowling action which was putting a lot of pressure on his back which he broke in three different places,” Mudassar, who was recently the Director of Academies at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, told PakPassion.

“So, we were tasked to nurse him through this recovery period and also fix the issues with his bowling action. We put him through a very strict regime that lasted about 9 months and I kept him right next to me at the NCA and made sure he followed instructions to the letter.

“At one stage we thought we had lost him but that boy worked very hard and was totally dedicated towards his own recovery. He had this self-belief and he came through. I hope he continues to grow, remain strong and performs well.

“If he continues to play cricket, he will achieve big things for Pakistan as that is the kind of potential he has. But I am not the only one who backed him, as Andy Roberts also saw him at an earlier stage in Karachi and felt that Naseem had something special about him.”

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