Naseem Shah has made a startling revelation involving the senior members of the Pakistan cricket team. In one of his recent interviews, the 21-year-old fast bowler claimed that senior Pakistan players are ‘afraid’ of taking breaks, citing fears of having themselves replaced by youngsters. Naseem Shah himself recently made a comeback to competitive cricket after recovering from the shoulder injury he sustained during last year’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Naseem Abbas Shah is a Pakistani international cricketer. In October 2019, at the age of 16, he was called up to the Pakistan cricket team for their Test series against Australia. He made his international debut for Pakistan in November 2019 against Australia, becoming the ninth-youngest player to make his debut in Test cricket.
In December 2019, in the second Test match against Sri Lanka, he became the second-youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a Test match, and also the youngest pace bowler to do so. In February 2020, in the first Test against Bangladesh, he became the youngest bowler to take a hat-trick in a Test match.
Naseem Shah’s scary history of injuries.
Regarded as perhaps the most sort-after emerging pacer in world cricket, Naseem Shah has a scary history of getting injured.
From staying away from cricket for nearly 14 months due to a back injury at 17, Naseem Shah has suffered shoulder injury twice in his career, most recently last year during the Asia Cup, after which he got sidelined for an indefinite period. Naseem Shah last bowled in international cricket against India in the 2023 Asia Cup tie in Colombo, and upon feeling discomfort in his bowling arm, he never returned to playing for Pakistan for the rest of the year.
Explaining what happened that day, Naseem Shah said, “I had stiffness in my shoulder, but after warm-ups, it would get better, and I played through it. But during the Asia Cup, I had a tear and felt something tearing inside me.” The right-arm pacer underwent shoulder surgery in the UK, where the doctors informed him that the tear was 4-5 centimeters long.
Naseem Shah missed the 2023 World Cup in India due to a shoulder injury and remained on the sidelines for the remainder of the year, including missing the two tours Down Under (Tests against Australia and T20Is versus New Zealand).
Meanwhile, Naseem Shah is playing for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League 2024. Naseem Shah has already bagged 15 wickets this season from just 10 innings and is currently on course to lead United’s new-ball attack against Multan Sultans in the PSL 2024 final.
Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah didn’t mince his words while opening up about the dressing room environment in the Pakistan Cricket Team. The right-arm seamer, who returned to competitive cricket following a lengthy layoff due to injury, revealed that a sense of insecurity of being replaced by someone new prevails among players in case they miss out on playing regular games or take rest.
Pakistan speed sensational Naseem Shah opens up on culture of insecurity in the national side post his return in PSL 2024
Pakistan tearaway speedster Naseem Shah has cited insecurity among the national team members due to which they fear taking breaks. The youngster revealed that Pakistan’s present culture is fickle enough for any new player to find their spot instead of a consistently performing one based on one or two performances.
Pakistan cricket has been in constant change since their group-stage exit in World Cup 2023 , with Mohsin Naqvi recently replacing Zaka Ashraf as the PCB Chairman. Babar Azam also resigned as captain from all the three formats after the World Cup failure.
Speaking to Cric Wick, Naseem Shah, who returned from his shoulder injury in PSL 9, stated that players are afraid of taking rest as they fear losing their spot in the team. He said :
“Honestly, the main players are afraid of giving their bodies rest even when they know they need a break because the Pakistan cricket culture is such that if a new player comes in and performs in a match or two, you don’t know if he will replace you permanently in the team.
“This fear does not allow players to rest because you are scared your careers could end there. In other countries, if a main player is given a break he is assured he will not be dropped in case his replacement comes in and performs in a match or two.”
Naseem Shah likely to mark his international return in the T20I series against New Zealand.
Meanwhile Naseem Shah could build himself up for the 2024 T20 World Cup in June via the five-game T20I series against New Zealand in April. The PCB announced the schedule for the home series against the Kiwis earlier this month, starting on April 18 and finishing on April 27.
Rawalpindi will host the first 3 T20Is, while Lahore will stage the last two. Pakistan will also play three more T20Is against England to close out their preparation for the World Cup, beginning on June 2.