I respect good players but do not fear them: Pakistan sensation Naseem Shah on duel with Stokes, Root

Pakistan teenager Naseem Shah believes that for Pakistan to succeed it is imperative for his side to learn from the opposition.




Pakistan’s teenage sensation Naseem Shah is ready for the battle with England’s star batsman Ben Stokes and Joe Root in the first Test between England and Pakistan which begins on Wednesday.

In an interview with Inews.co.uk on Tuesday, Shah said that the men in green will not let the hosts dominate.

“Joe Root and Ben Stokes are two cricketers I rate highly, and it will be great to test myself against them. I respect good players, but I do not fear them. I will show them respect, but I will not let them dominate and I will not think that these guys are really good, world-class cricketers and that I should be concerned or worried about bowling to them,” said the 17-year-old.

“I want to leave England this summer having created an impression on the opposition batsmen and with the fans. At the moment, they won’t know who I am, but hopefully, by the end of the tour they will know all about me,” he added.

“Learning from your own coaches and team-mates is vital, but I feel that watching the opposition bowlers and learning from them is almost equally as important,” he remarked.

The youngster is also a big admirer of veteran English seamer James Anderson and wants to pick his brains in the series.

“I’ll be observing the English bowlers very closely, to see how they bowl in home conditions. I’m a big admirer of Anderson who’s been such a brilliant bowler for so long. You don’t take hundreds of Test wickets without knowing what you are doing and to be around Anderson and have the opportunity to learn from him is something that I am not going to miss out on,” he added.

Optimistic Azhar Ali 

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Test captain Azhar Ali expressed optimism ahead of the first Test and said, “A tour to England is always hard but our past performances here raise our spirits. Our batting has a lot of experience. The team has a great combination. We cannot ignore any department in Test cricket. If we can post a big total then we have enough firepower in the bowling department to win matches. Spin will play a big role. Yasir Shah has proved himself time and time again. We can go into the match with two spinners.”

“We will try to start the series with a win no matter the conditions. We will try to bat well. We don’t have a lot of experience in the bowling department but they are passionate and skillful which can result in great performances. We will enter the ground without any fear and with the will to win,” Cricket Pakistan quoted him as saying.

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