"When Virat Kohli came in to bat, I thought he would go hard" - Naseem Shah recalls his T20I debut

Pakistan quick Naseem Shah recalled bowling to Virat Kohli on his T20I debut during the 2022 Asia Cup against India in Dubai. The youngster stated that it was a wonderful experience to make his first appearance in the format against such a big team.

The right-arm speedster got a wicket off his second delivery in T20Is as he disturbed KL Rahul's stumps. He also bowled well to Kohli and finished with figures of 4-0-27-2, with Suryakumar Yadav becoming his second victim.

Speaking on the Islamabad United Podcast, the tearaway pacer recalled how he tested Kohli with an in-swinger and an out-swinger, claiming:

"When Virat Kohli came in to bat, I thought he would go hard. So I bowled an in-swinger hoping that it might catch his pad but he let it go. The next delivery I bowled an out-swinger, caught the edge but yeah, the catch got dropped. But it was a good experience because when you make your debut against a big team and under so much pressure then you get a margin in other matches."

Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja scored 35 runs each, with Hardik Pandya hitting the winning runs as India chased down 148 to win by five wickets.

"I was naturally a bit nervous since it was my debut" - Naseem Shah

Naseem added that he was nervous ahead of his debut but said that having played Tests and ODIs before calmed his nerves. The 21-year-old stated:

"I have good memories of my T20I debut against India. India versus Pakistan is the most important match when it comes to the crowds and intensity on the field and that was my debut match. I was naturally a bit nervous since it was my debut. But the good thing for me was that I had played a lot of cricket before, I had played Tests and ODIs, which helped me."

The youngster, who missed the 2023 World Cup due to a shoulder injury, will mark his return to professional cricket in PSL 9.