Babar Azam reveals when he will prefer Naseem Shah over Jasprit Bumrah
The Pakistani skipper rates the 20-year-old very highly
Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam recently appeared in a podcast where he talked about a number of things including the recently-concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) where he finished as the tournament’s top scorer.
Azam, 29, was recently reappointed as white-ball captain of the Pakistan cricket team, replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi as a T20I skipper just ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on June 1.
The 29-year-old 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.
It is worth mentioning that Naseem picked up a shoulder injury during the 2023 Asia Cup which made him miss the World Cup in India. He had to undergo surgery which made him sit on the sidelines for over six months.
However, after a long wait, the 20-year-old finally 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.
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