Aamer Sohail: “There is another muscle he needs to develop, the brain muscle. He will become a better cricketer and bowler”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Aamer Sohail, the former Pakistan captain, has taken an angry verbal swipe at pace sensation Naseem Shah, saying the 20-year-old needs to develop his brain.
Naseem has become a key member of the Pakistan fast bowling attack as he regularly contributes with wickets.
Sohail noted that becoming smarter will allow the youngster to “become a better cricketer and bowler.”
“There is another muscle he needs to develop, the brain muscle. He will become a better cricketer and bowler,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
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.
Most recently, he featured in the Asia Cup and finished with seven wickets in four games at an average of 20.
Pakistan started the tournament with a 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India as their match was rained off.
Having booked their spot in the Super Four, the men in green cruised past Bangladesh by seven wickets.
Things started to go wrong from here as they lost to India by 228 runs.
Pakistan still had a chance to make it to the Asia Cup final, but couldn’t do it as they succumbed to a two-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method.
To make matters worse, Naseem injured his shoulder during the loss to India and is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
It is understood that the injury is worse than initially suspected and could result in the pace bowler missing the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, Pakistan’s tour of Australia at the end of the year, and potentially the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
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
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