Coming into the DP World Asia Cup, it was felt that pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi’s void in the line-up would be sorely felt, especially in the high-octane fixture against arch-rivals India. After all, the tall quick had towered India the last time the two teams met at the T20 World Cup in Dubai last year. Pakistan, well known for producing fast bowling gems, did have good pacers in the Asia Cup squad but a majority of them are relatively young and lack experience.

But that didn’t stop them from uncovering another gem who would probably go on and serve Pakistan cricket for a long time. Naseem Shah, all of 19, and making his T20 International debut, ensured that Pakistan didn’t miss Shaheen’s services. Naseem, born in Lower Dir, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, rattled India with his sheer pace and aggression.

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Naseem shows why being so young he still made it to the Asia Cup

Opening the attack, Naseem’s raw pace saw Indian opener KL Rahul play on to his stumps off the second ball. He then posed questions to star Indian batsman Virat Kohli and Indian captain Rohit Sharma. Later on, Naseem disturbed Suryakumar Yadav’s furniture with a peach of a delivery.

And his skipper Babar Azam couldn’t have asked for more as he showered glowing praise on the youngster. “Fast bowlers are always pumped up and they have a lot of aggression,” said Azam. “We did miss Shaheen (Shah Afridi) but the way Naseem started, he made sure we didn’t feel Shaheen’s absence. Also at the death, he bowled extremely well,” he added.

Naseem is not new to international cricket. He has played 13 Tests since 2019, taking 33 wickets at an average of 36.3 and three One-Day Internationals with 10 wickets at an average of 11.1. This should be just the start in what should be an illustrious career for Pakistan. Meanwhile, with a low-score to defend, Azam said that it was vital to take the game deep so that they stand a chance. And the Pakistan bowling attack, backed up by some tight fielding, did that and almost pulled it off.

“Our plan was to take the game deep, it would be better for us and the way Naseem bowled was fantastic. Even at the start, he was fantastic and he got us crucial wickets and he also bowled very well at the death. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish with a positive result for our side. But, we also have to give credit to (Mohammad) Nawaz, the way he bowled that last over. It was a pressure game and unfortunately, we couldn’t get over the line,” said Azam.