Naseem Shah ‘confident’ in Pakistan Champions Trophy buildup
KARACHI: Pakistan’s fast bowler, Naseem Shah, on Monday shed light on the national team’s preparation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the crucial match against South Africa in the ongoing tri-nation series.
Shah, while addressing the media ahead of the must-win encounter against South Africa at the rebuilt National Bank Stadium, admitted that the Men in Green did not play according to the expectations in the series opener against New Zealand.
However, he was confident in the bowling unit’s ability to make a comeback in the upcoming clash.
“Look, after just one match, you can’t think negatively as a fast bowler. In the last two series, our fast bowlers performed exceptionally well in Australia and South Africa,” said Shah.
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”Here, the conditions are not suitable for fast bowlers, the role of the spinners is very much important in these conditions,” remarked the pacer.
He also talked about his performance and said that he was not at his best in the last few matches.
“To be honest, I am not performing the way I am expecting from myself,” added Shah.
While sharing his views on the much-anticipated match between Pakistan and India, Naseem Shah said that we haven’t talked much about it yet.
Naseem Shah emphasised that our team can bounce back and have the potential to play well, although the result in Lahore was not according to our expectations.
“Our team has the potential to bounce back and play good cricket,” the fast bowler concluded.
It is pertinent to mention here that, New Zealand achieved a convincing victory against Pakistan by 78 runs in the first match of the tri-nation ODI series at Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.
Batting first, Phillips scored a fiery unbeaten ton after Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell’s fifties to power New Zealand to 330 over the loss of six wickets.
Chasing 331, Pakistan got off to a promising start with the new opening pair of Fakhar and Babar Azam putting together a brisk 52-run stand.
Fakhar Zaman was the only silver lining for Pakistan as they crumbled in chase, and were bowled out for 252 in 47.5 overs at Gaddafi Stadium.
Pakistan squad for tri-nation series and ICC Champions Trophy 2025:
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
READ: PCB provides update on Haris Rauf’s injury ahead of Champions Trophy
