Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar believes that among the current crop of Pakistan players it is young fast-bowler Naseem Shah who can replicate his “bowling attitude and passion”.
“Among the present lot, I feel Naseem Shah can replicate my bowling attitude and passion. Naseem and I would have made a fine pair with the same attacking attitude,” Akhtar said as quoted by IANS.
The Rawalpindi Express made these comments while choosing a bowling partner to form a dream pair both from the list of former bowlers and the current lot representing Pakistan in Test cricket in the Digital Pairs series launched by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
It is worth noting that Pakistan’s prodigal pacer Naseem is the youngest Test cricketer to take a hat trick. The then 16-year-old had achieved the feat against Bangladesh in the first Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in February this year.
The teenager has been a find for Pakistani cricket in recent times during their search for strike bowlers following Mohammad Amir’s pre-mature retirement from Test cricket.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-born pacer was first called into the national team for the tour of Australia. Though he took only one wicket in just a single match, Naseem gave a glimpse of his talent against the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne and won the trust of the selectors.
In the two-match home series against Sri Lanka, the youngster took seven wickets at an average of 27.71 before raising his game to a different level against Bangladesh.
(With inputs from IANS)