OTD | Pakistan Fast Bowler Naseem Shah celebrates 21st birth anniversary

The emerging young fast bowler from Pakistan, Naseem Shah, is celebrating his 21st birthday today. At a very young age, Naseem Shah has already established himself as one of the prominent faces in the Pakistan bowling attack. His performances in his brief international career indicate a long potential career that promises a lot of laurels to his name. 

Naseem Shah broke into the senior team in 2019 when he was called up for the Test squad. The team travelled to Australia and the young fast bowler made his debut in the first match of the 3-match Test series at Brisbane. Naseem continued his impressive run after his debut in Test cricket and his consistent wicket-taking streak earned him an opportunity to represent Pakistan in limited-overs cricket. He made his debut in One-Day internationals in August 2022 against the Netherlands. A few days later he also played his maiden T20 international against arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup. 

Unlimited potential

Naseem Shah has proven his worth in international cricket in a very short span. His impact makes a difference for the team. His absence in the 2023 ODI World Cup was a big setback for Pakistan and they could not even qualify for the semi-finals. The void that his injury left in the team could not be filled which became a major for the underwhelming campaign from his team. 

The 21-year-old pacer has represented Pakistan in all formats of the game but he has looked most threatening in One-Day cricket. Naseem has played 14 One-day internationals for Pakistan where he has picked up 32 wickets at an extraordinary average of 16.96. In Test cricket, he has represented Pakistan 17 times. The youngster has taken 51 wickets in the longest format of the game. However, he has not found much success in T20 internationals as he only has 15 wickets to his name in 19 matches. Naseem Shah would want to create more impact in the shortest format and ensure his place in the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.