Babar Azam said he would pick Naseem Shah over Jasprit Bumrah to defend 10 runs in the final over of a T20 match
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam said he would choose Naseem Shah over India speedster Jasprit Bumrah to defend 10 runs in the final over of a T20 match.
Azam did not hesitate with his choice, even though Bumrah is among the best fast bowlers in the world.
This shows the amount of confidence the 29-year-old has in Naseem, who is arguably Pakistan’s top pace bowler at the moment.
“One over, T20 match, you have to win the match, you have two options to defend 10 runs, whom will you give the last over, Naseem Shah or Jasprit Bumrah?” the podcast host asked as quoted by Geo Super.
In response, Azam immediately said: “Naseem Shah.”
Naseem recently played for Islamabad United in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and took 15 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 22.20 and an economy rate of 7.56.
As for Azam, he captained the Peshawar Zalmi and finished as the highest run-scorer in PSL 9 with 569 runs in 11 games, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 56.90 and a strike-rate of 142.60.
He will now lead Pakistan in their five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will take place in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18 to 27.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan
Non-travelling reserves: Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha
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