T20 World Cup 2022: “It will be a nightmare if Shaheen and Naseem bowl in tandem” - Mahela Jayawardene impressed with Pakistan’s fast bowling resources
Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene reckons that Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah could be a handful in Australian conditions during the T20 World Cup.
Shaheen has been Pakistan’s lead pacer across the three formats over the last couple of seasons. He has been out of action for a few weeks following a knee injury he suffered during the tour of Sri Lanka in July. Pakistan are hoping for him to recover in time for the T20 World Cup.
In Shaheen’s absence, Naseem made a big impression during the Asia Cup and the preceding tour of the Netherlands. Speaking on the ICC Review show, Jayawardene opined that the duo could make a significant impact during the T20 World Cup. He said:
“In Australian conditions, those guys will be a handful. Especially for quite a few opening batsmen, it will be a nightmare if Shaheen and Naseem bowl in tandem from both ends.”
Naseem, 19, emerged as one of Pakistan's star performers during the Asia Cup in the UAE. In five matches, he picked up seven wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.66.
Mahela Jayawardena 🗣️ –
Naseem Shah & Shaheen Afridi will be nightmare for the opening batters
#Cricket #ShaheenAfridi #NaseemShah https://t.co/S1bXxyCXah
He also clobbered consecutive sixes in the Super 4 match against Afghanistan as Pakistan pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win.
“He has come of age” - Mahela Jayawardene on Naseem Shah
Analyzing Naseem’s performances in international cricket so far, Jayawardene asserted that he has come of age. Praising the young Pakistan quick, he said:
"I’ve been following Naseem for a while now. Obviously, they have used him a lot in red-ball cricket, in Test match cricket because of his pace.
"They did not back him too much with the accuracy with the white-ball format but lately, with a lot of cricket being played, he has come of age and the control that he showed, especially with the new ball, picking up wickets … that’s the key element.”
The 45-year-old agreed that the Pakistan attack will look stronger when Afridi returns, pointing out that Haris Rauf is also bowling very well. Jayawardene concluded by saying:
"With the two youngsters, they’ve got a really, really good pace unit. And Naseem has been brilliant, I was really impressed by the way he went about things. The skills, especially bringing the ball back into the right-handers, the way he swung the ball with that kind of pace.”
Naseem Shah is special talent.
He reminds me back to my early day's of career.
Although is better then me in skills.
#PAKvENG https://t.co/SiuXOVAwAd
Like Naseem, Rauf also impressed in the Asia Cup, claiming eight wickets in six matches at an average of 19.12.