"He is nearly the best fast bowler I have ever seen at that age" - Shaun Tait on Naseem Shah
Former Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait lavished praise on young Pakistan sensation Naseem Shah. The Australian believes that there is no one as old as him who is better than Naseem.
At the age of 16 years and 279 days, Naseem became the ninth youngest player to make a Test debut against Australia on November 21, 2019, in Brisbane. He became the youngest bowler to claim Test cricket during the first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi in February 2020.
Naseem bowls with the new ball and can run through any batting unit with the powerful combination of the reverse swing, slower deliveries, and sheer pace.
Speaking to a Pakistan cricket Journalist Saj Sadiq, Shaun Tait, who worked as a fast-bowling coach with the Pakistan men's team from February 2022 to January 2023, said Naseem is the best fast bowler at his age.
Tait said:
"I just thought he [Naseem Shah] was fantastic. I loved working with him. I think at his age now, early 20s, he is probably the best, and it is a big call, but I am going to say he is nearly the best fast bowler I have ever seen at that age."
He added:
"As far as his ability, his brains, his desires and his competitiveness, he is almost the perfect package. There is no such thing but he is nearly there. He is someone who swings the ball both ways when he wants to and he can also reverse the old ball. He takes the pace off really well and bowls good Yorkers. I think he is a fantastic player. He is mature beyond his years as well."
Shaun Tait speaking to me about Naseem Shah "he's nearly the best fast bowler I have ever seen at that age" #Cricket https://t.co/bGkjFMQxJB
How many wickets does Naseem Shah have in international cricket?
Naseem Shah has played 42 international matches across formats and returned with 80 wickets at an average of 29.8. It has only been 10 months since the Central Punjab pacer made his mark in both the white-ball formats for Pakistan.
Naseem dismissed the likes of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav on his T20I debut in the 2022 Asia Cup. Both the batters saw their stumps rattled by the raw pace of the Pakistan youngster.
Although Naseem picked only three wickets in the T20 World Cup 2022, he had the fourth-best economy rate by a fast bowler (minimum five overs) in the group stage, 5.60, conceding just 102 runs in 18 overs.