Babar Azam: “He has improved so much”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Babar Azam, the Pakistan cricket captain, admitted that he has seen great improvement in fast bowler Naseem Shah.
Naseem started off by only representing Pakistan in Test cricket, but after getting the opportunity to play ODIs and T20Is as well, he made the most of those chances.
As a result, he is now an established member of the team and a key bowler in the pace attack.
“He has improved so much,” Azam told Cricwick.
The 28-year-old and Naseem both featured in the recently-concluded two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which Pakistan won 2-0.
Azam scored 76 runs at an average of 25.33, while Naseem finished with nine wickets at an average of 23.
The 20-year-old speedster is now featuring in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), where he took 10 wickets in seven matches at an average of 19.40 and an economy rate of 7.32.
Both players are in Pakistan’s squad for the ongoing three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which is taking place in Sri Lanka from August 22 to 26.
Azam was dismissed for a duck in the first ODI, which Pakistan won by 142 runs, while Naseem finished with figures of 1-12 off five overs.
After the Afghanistan series, the men in green will play in the Asia Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
Pakistan Squad for Afghanistan ODI Series and 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel (Afghanistan series only), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr