Few stories in cricket are as beguiling as that of Naseem Shah, the young fast bowler from Pakistan who rose from obscurity to quickly become the cornerstone of his country’s pace attack. Naseem Shah‘s career has already been embellished at 21 years of age with a series of remarkable achievements.
Naseem Shah made his international debut as a teenager, taking wickets with an ease that belied the nerves of a seasoned professional. Only in his third and fourth Test matches, Naseem Shah became the youngest fast bowler to claim a five-wicket haul and then a hat-trick. Naseem Shah has picked up 51 wickets in 17 Test matches, almost five years into his international career, the testament his talent and hard work. His journey has come with its ups and downs, though.
Naseem Shah cricketing journey – A glimpse
Though Naseem Shah showed his intense performances on the field, his personal and professional life was severely strained. His mother passed away right before he made his debut, after which he suffered some serious injuries that forced him to miss considerable periods from both 2021 and 2023.
Yet all these tribulations do not seem to worry Shah. His calm and composed nature does not let his emotions show through his face, be it any victory or defeat. But after the defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India by a narrow margin during a recent T20 World Cup match, visible were the cracks on Naseem Shah’s exterior. He cracked under the pressure and disappointment, breaking down in front of a full stadium and millions of viewers, revealing how much of an emotional toll it took to carry the expectations of an entire nation.
A shoulder injury, which required surgery, and the ever-dwindling space of Test cricket in Pakistan’s international calendar means Shah has not featured in the format for over a year. He made his return to the longer format with a Pakistan Shaheens first-class game against Bangladesh A.
In what turned out to be a rain-affected contest, Shah bowled 15.3 overs across two innings. His 8.3 overs on the first day resulted in three wickets for 24 runs. The highlights package on Pakistan Cricket Board’s YouTube channel shows the right-arm quick dismissing right-handed Anamul Haque with his traditional outswing, pitched a tad fuller, and left-handed Mominul Haque with a good length delivery that seams away – both caught by wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Picked as a Test specialist for his Pakistan debut in 2019, Shah is now one of the most consistent bowlers for Pakistan across formats. He transformed into a reliable limited overs bowler in 2022 when he was asked to don Pakistan’s green to fill in for Shaheen Afridi. His first outing in international white-ball cricket was against the Netherlands, but his first T20I assignment was a high-pressure Asia Cup contest against India in Dubai.
Shah showed the world that he belonged at this stage right away. He rattled KL Rahul’s stumps and made Kohli uncomfortable in his first T20I over. Soon, the trio of Afridi, Shah, and Haris Rauf formed one of the most fearsome pace attacks around the world and it promised to rekindle the typical fast bowling spirit with which Pakistan is associated.
But their questionable management, especially of Afridi and Shah, had them spending more time on the physio’s table than on the ground. Afridi, after a brief comeback in the 2022 T20 World Cup, had to stay away from the game until the 2023 Pakistan Super League. Shah, after spending most of 2021 out with injury, had to be benched for six months in August 2023 when a shoulder problem ruled him out of what would have been his first 50-over World Cup, and the three-Test tour of Australia.
His absence hurt Pakistan, as they lost an enforcer who could also keep the lid on the flow of runs with his disciplined bowling. One gift of starting his international cricket in the longer format is an ability to be precise on a consistent basis. He speaks about ‘playing the waiting game with the batters’. He is also one of the most complete bowlers in Pakistan. He swings the new ball and reverses the old. When he is not hitting those six- to eight-meter lengths, he is introducing sharp bouncers or vicious yorkers.
Shah’s impeccable lengths allow fellow bowlers to attack from the other end. With Naseem out of the picture in last year’s 50-over World Cup, the Pakistan bowlers struggled to build pressure on the opposition. Since his ODI debut on 16 August 2022, he has the second best economy (4.68) for a fast bowler of a Test-playing nation with at least 100 overs – behind Jasprit Bumrah. Now with the Pakistan Summer starting up versus Bangladesh , Naseem Shah opens up on the game of cricket , his life and family.
Young Sensational pacer Naseem Shah expresses impact of Pakistan matches on his family ahead of 2 match test series vs Bangladesh
Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah detailed how his and the side’s performances have affected his father’s health adversely. The 21-year-old has enjoyed a stratospheric rise in the cricketing world since his Pakistan debut in 2019. Naseem Shah became the youngest pacer to bag a five-wicket haul in Tests and a hat-trick at just 16 against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, respectively. Yet, injuries have taken a toll on the youngster, leading him to miss last year’s ODI World Cup.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, Naseem Shah opened up about the family aspect of his life and how Pakistan matches have taken a toll on his father’s health.
“My father is going through some health issues. There was a time when he did not know anything about cricket, but now he watches every ball and gets distressed when we lose. So, before every big game, I ring my brothers to make sure that our father doesn’t watch it. I fear that it may lead to some bigger health complications. It [the pressure] is like I am playing two matches at once,” said Naseem
He added:
“There is a lot going on in a cricketer’s life behind the scenes about which people are not aware. At times, all you are searching for are small moments of happiness.”
Naseem Shah boasts stellar numbers across formats in his brief international career, with 107 wickets and three five-wicket hauls in 59 outings. He will be in action next when Pakistan take on Bangladesh in a two-Test series at home, starting in Rawalpindi on August 21. The opportunity comes on Wednesday when Pakistan begin their packed home season with the first of two Tests against Bangladesh.
They then host England in a three-Test series and travel to Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa for multi-format tours. They come back home to host West Indies in two Tests in January, New Zealand and South Africa in a tri-series, and then host the all-important Champions Trophy – Pakistan’s first ICC event on home soil since the 1996 World Cup.