Srinagar: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has praised young pacer Naseem Shah for his talent and has said that he is happy to see Shah having recovered from the injury.
Babar was asked to choose one of Naseem Shah or Jasprit Bumrah if he had to win a match in T20 cricket with 10 runs to defend.
“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 host asked.
Babar, without a moment’s hesitation, replied: “Naseem Shah.”
“Firstly, I felt so happy for Naseem [Shah] for the way he returned to cricket after injury, the way he recovered because as per my information, I knew it would take time [for him to recover completely], but he was determined to play the PSL.
“The number of skills he has, you don’t get a talent like this very often in Pakistan. There are others too, like Shaheen [Afridi], he has his own class, he is experienced and Naseem is on Shaheen’s path [in terms of experience],” Azam added.
Naseem had picked up a shoulder injury during the 2023 Asia Cup which made him miss the World Cup in India.
He made his comeback to competitive cricket in the PSL 9 where he represented Islamabad United after leaving Quetta Gladiators. He picked 15 wickets in 11 innings at an economy of 7.56 and guided them to the trophy win.