PAK vs ENG: “I Told Her, 'You Must Watch The Game Tomorrow Because I'm Playing,’ She Was So Happy” – Naseem Shah Opens Up On Mother's Tragic Death

Updated - 15 Dec 2022, 12:22 PM

Naseem Shah (Image Credits: Twitter)

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The 19-year-old Pakistan National Cricket Team speedster Naseem Shah has opened up on his mother’s tragic death. Notably, Naseem’s mother passed away due to a cardiac arrest a day before his international debut and his excitement had turned into agony when he was informed about it.

Naseem Shah made his international cricket debut at the age of 16 in the first Test match of the two-match series against the Australia National Cricket Team at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, Woolloongabba, Brisbane on November 21, 2019. He bagged the wicket of David Warner on his Test debut in his team’s only bowling innings.

Talking about the incident three years later during an interview with Nasser Hussain for Sky Sports Cricket, Naseem Shah said:

“I was too attached with my mom. When I was 12, I left home because of cricket. I shifted to Lahore. When my debut came, she called me a day before and I told her, ‘tomorrow is my debut’. She didn’t use to watch TV, she didn’t understand cricket. But I told her, ‘you must watch the game tomorrow because I’m playing, I’ll be live on TV’.

“She was so happy, she said she would come to Lahore to watch the game. When I woke up, the management came to me and said, ‘your mom has passed away’.”

I used to have a lot of medicines, I saw my mom everywhere – Naseem Shah

Naseem Shah further said that he struggled for 6-8 months after his mother passed away as during that period he also sustained a lot of injuries. He added that his international debut was the toughest day of his life, but now he has become stronger.

“For the next six-to-eight months, I struggled so much. No one thinks about what’s going inside you. I used to have a lot of medicines, I saw my mom everywhere. I used to think about her a lot. Whenever you play for Pakistan, everyone expects performances from you. I had a lot of injuries during that time as well, so it was a tough time. I learned from it, though. I’m stronger now. My (Pakistan) debut was the toughest day of my life. I can manage when I’m not performing well now, because I know how tough it was,” Naseem said further.

Naseem Shah, after missing the last two Tests of the three-match series against England, is most likely to return to action in the upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand.