Babar Azam: “The way he was bowling in the Asia Cup, it was very impressive bowling – and a youngster, the way he was improving day by day, we miss him a lot as a team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has hailed pace bowler Naseem Shah as he is constantly working to improve and has been bowling impressively.
Naseem was one of the players to watch out for in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, but the 21-year-old didn’t feature in the tournament as he suffered a shoulder injury during the Asia Cup.
To make matters worse, the talented youngster missed Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Knowing how useful he is to the national team, Azam conceded that the entire team is hoping Naseem will be back in action in the near future.
“The way he was bowling in the Asia Cup, it was very impressive bowling – and a youngster, the way he was improving day by day, we miss him a lot as a team,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Azam has been trying to break out of his rough patch, which has lasted for a few months, but failed to do so in the Test series against Australia as he made 126 runs at an average of 21.
He had more success in the T20I series against New Zealand, scoring 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142.
Azam is now captaining the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Naseem is playing for Islamabad United.
PSL 9 began on February 17 and will take place in four cities – Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asif Ali, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufiyan Muqeem, Waqar Salamkheil, Arshad Iqbal, Gus Atkinson, Shamar Joseph
Islamabad United Squad for PSL 9: Shadab Khan (captain), Naseem Shah, Jordan Cox, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Tymal Mills, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Rumman Raees, Matthew Forde, Salman Ali Agha, Qasim Akram, Shahab Khan, Hunain Shah, Ubaid Shah, Shamyl Hussain, Obed McCoy, Haider Ali, Muhammad Waseem
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