Pakistan’s teenage bowling sensation Naseem Shah praised India opener Rohit Sharma, saying he has the ability to play all types of deliveries and getting his wicket would be a dream come true.
Naseem Shah, known for his raw pace, made his Test debut as a 16-year-old in Pakistan’s tour of Australia last year. He went on to pick up a 5-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in Karachi and picked up a hat-trick against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, thereby becoming the youngest bowler in Test cricket history to do so.
“Rohit Sharma has the ability to play all types of deliveries, be it short ones or good length deliveries. His records speak for itself and picking his wicket would be a dream come true for me,” Naseem Shah told Cricingif as quoted by the Pakistan Observer.
Shah also lauded Australia’s batting stalwart Steve Smith for his unorthodox batting technique and said that dismissing him would be a delight for Pakistan pacer.
“Steve Smith is very unorthodox in his batting technique and getting him out would be a delight for me. In the past, I have had the opportunity to bowl to him but picking his wicket would be a good experience, given his form,” Naseem Shah added.
During the conversation, Naseem Shah also revealed the names of 3 batsmen who would fill in his dream hat-trick.
Naseem Shah said that he would like to dismiss Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith and Joe Root on consecutive deliveries.
Currently, on an England tour, Naseem Shah will have an opportunity to dismiss Joe Root in the three-match Test series in England starting on August 5.
Naseem Shah Stats:
Batting and fielding averages
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
| Tests | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 45.45 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| First-class | 11 | 10 | 4 | 23 | 7 | 3.83 | 54 | 42.59 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| List A | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20s | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Bowling Averages:
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
| Tests | 4 | 6 | 601 | 349 | 13 | 5/31 | 5/87 | 26.84 | 3.48 | 46.2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| First-class | 11 | 19 | 1491 | 799 | 40 | 6/59 | 9/111 | 19.97 | 3.21 | 37.2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| List A | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20s | 10 | 10 | 228 | 295 | 8 | 2/17 | 2/17 | 36.87 | 7.76 | 28.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
