Yasir Shah calls Shane Warne his hero

Yasir Shah celebrates after taking a wicket at Lord’s

Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah made a stunning comeback in white clothing and courtesy his 10-wicket match-haul, Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the 4-match Test series against England at Lord’s on Sunday. The leg-spinning sensation has said that he considers Shane Warne as his hero and Mushtaq Ahmed as his teacher.

Shah, who was out of the Pakistan team due to a drug-related ban also discussed how he felt when he bowled in tandem with Mohammad Amir for the very first time in his career. He termed Amir as an excellent bowler who always keeps batsmen on their toes.

“You learn from your mistakes, however, big or small they are. My wife has recently arrived in the United Kingdom and the first thing I said to her was to keep her medication far away from my medication,” Shah said.

The 30-year-old was disappointed when he was banned from international cricket and mentioned that he really missed the dressing room during his time away.

“I’m not a good watcher of cricket and I got annoyed with the fact that I was not part of the team. It was frustrating missing matches due to a mistake,” he said.

When asked if he was under-cooked as a bowler coming into the England series, the talented leg-break bowler from Pakistan said: “It’s ample preparation for me. It’s more than enough. Ahead of the Somerset match, we arrived in England a couple of weeks early to acclimatise and prepare; that was very important and useful for us. We used that time very well and practiced hard and it was excellent preparation.”

When asked about having Mushtaq Ahmed as one of the coaches, Shah said: “He has been a very important factor in my development as a bowler, and his knowledge of English wickets and conditions will be very important for me. Mushtaq played an important role with his advice and inside information last time around in UAE against England, and his inside knowledge of the England batsmen will once again be vital.”

Yasir also added that he considers Aussie legend Shane Warne as his hero.

“He’s (Warne) my hero and Mushtaq Ahmed is my teacher; to have the opportunity to work with and speak to both of them is just fantastic for me. When I am working with both of them, it’s like I’m in a dream, it’s just awesome,” he said.

Yasir will be keen to replicate his 1st Test heroics in the remainder of the series.