Shaun Tait: “I just thought he (Naseem Shah) was fantastic”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Shaun Tait, the former Australia pace demon, thought Naseem Shah was a “fantastic” fast bowler when he worked with him as Pakistan’s bowling coach.
Naseem is on track to have a really bright future as he has become a mainstay in the Pakistan team across all three formats.
Despite being 20 years old, he opens the bowling with pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi.
“I just thought he (Naseem Shah) was fantastic,” Tait told respected journalist Saj Sadiq as quoted by Cricket Pakistan. “I loved working with him.”
Naseem recently took nine wickets in two Tests against Sri Lanka at an average of 23.
He followed that up with two wickets in two ODIs against Afghanistan at an average of 28.50.
In the ongoing Asia Cup, he took seven wickets in four games at an average of 20. Â
Pakistan have done well in the tournament as they beat Nepal by 238 runs, shared one point apiece with India after their match was rained off, and defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets.
However, they suffered a setback in their match against India as they were pummelled by 228 runs.
To make matters worse, Naseem injured his bowling shoulder in that match and has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament, with Zaman Khan being called up as his replacement.
The men in green will now play Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo for a spot in the Asia Cup final against India, which will take place on September 17.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir