Naseem Shah Test debut: 16-year old Pakistan spearhead amidst limelight ahead of Gabba Test

Naseem Shah Test debut: The teenage sensation is most likely to make his Test debut tomorrow against Australia in Brisbane.

While Pakistan have not announced their Playing XI for the first Test of their ongoing tour of Australia, it is nearly confirmed that 16-year old fast bowler Naseem Shah will making his debut in international cricket.

Pakistan, who have a profound history of producing fast bowlers, have another intriguing prospect in Shah. Despite the teenage sensation not playing enough cricket at the domestic level, it is his capability to bowl “fast” which has brought him to Australia.

The buzz regarding Shah can be guessed from the fact that there were his mentions by whosoever spoke in the build-up of the first Test in Brisbane. From the Pakistani contingent to Australia captain Tim Paine and batsman Steven Smith, everyone was excited/prepared/surprised to have witnessed Shah’s skills.

There has been lot of hype around Naseem Shah’s debut. He will get his first Test cap tomorrow in Brisbane. Exciting, fast, skilful and energetic prospect. All the best to him. Hopefully he will have a good career. If he does, cricket will be more interesting to watch. #AusvPak pic.twitter.com/dvHkbBxbzf

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) November 20, 2019

Naseem Shah Test debut

On his maiden Test tour, Shah confronted the upsetting news of his mother passing away back in Pakistan. While there were talks of Shah returning to Pakistan, it was a 48-hour journey to Khyber which made Shah remain in Australia in an attempt to “make his country proud”.

While Shah didn’t bowl in the first innings of the first warm-up match, he bowled a testing spell in the second which troubled the Australia A batsmen. If Shah’s performance in the first Test matches his intensity from the warm-up match, be rest assured that he will once again cause problems for the Aussies.

While Shah has shown glimpses of falling into the category of Pakistani fast bowlers who make a praiseworthy start to their international career, the upcoming days will throw more light on the same.

In the seven First-class matches that Shah has played till date, he has picked 27 wickets at an average of 16.66, an economy rate of 3.03 and a strike rate of 32.9.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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