"When Virat Kohli came to bat..." - Naseem Shah talks about facing India star on T20I debut

Pakistan star pacer Naseem Shah has revealed his experience of facing India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli on his T20I debut. He made his T20I debut during the Asia Cup 2022 against archnemesis India and called it a good experience. He took figures of 2/27 on his debut taking wickets of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav on his debut game. Naseem was also very close to taking Virat Kohli’s wicket on his debut as he got an edge but the catch was dropped.

Naseem Shah is currently recovering from a shoulder injury that he picked during the Asia Cup 2023 due to which he also missed the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023. The 21-year-old pacer will return during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024. He will be representing Islamabad United in the PSL this season. The Pakistan Super League is set to commence on February 17, Saturday with the opening game to be played between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United.

Naseem Shah, while talking about his T20I debut on the Islamabad United Podcast said that he has good memories of his debut and talked about how previous experience of Test and ODIs helped him to deal with the pressure in that high-octane clash. He also talked about India versus Pakistan being the most important match regarding the intensity of the crowd.

“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,” said Naseem.

Naseem Shah reveals his game plan against Virat Kohli on his T20I debut

“When Virat Kohli came into 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, and 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,” added Naseem Shah.

Naseem Shah made his national team debut at the age of 16 against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane. It was a Test match and then in August 2022, he made his ODI and T20I debut against Netherlands and India respectively. He has been one of the most lethal bowlers for Pakistan in recent times. His prowess with swinging the ball both ways is something that most of the batters fear.

Naseem Shah has been a brilliant bowler and has taken 51 wickets in Tests, 32 wickets in ODIs, and 15 wickets in T20Is. Shah has the best average in his career in the ODIs where he averages 16.97 while his Test and T20I average stands decent at 33.82 and 34.67 respectively. It will be interesting to see him back in action after so long as he is ready to represent Islamabad United in the PSL this season.