Babar Azam: “Of course, Naseem is missed badly because he had been part of our scheme but overall our bowling has not clicked”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam admitted that he is saddened by the long-term loss of Naseem Shah as the fast bowler “had been part of our scheme.”
Naseem was in phenomenal form in the lead-up to the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup as he was taking plenty of wickets and generating incredible swing when bowling.
However, he missed out on the tournament after suffering a shoulder injury during the Asia Cup.
In addition to this, he wasn’t picked for Pakistan’s upcoming tour of Australia and could miss the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) as well.
Azam conceded that the 20-year-old’s absence has hit the team hard, especially since “our bowling has not clicked.”
“Of course, Naseem is missed badly because he had been part of our scheme but overall our bowling has not clicked,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
In the World Cup, Azam scored 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Pakistan won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite bouncing back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign in disappointing fashion as England hammered them by 93 runs.
Pakistan’s tour of Australia will consist of three Test matches and begin on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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