The scorching heat in Dubai had once again proved to be a problem for pace bowlers. In a recent incident, Pakistan speedster Naseem Shah, 19, battled with cramps during the Asia Cup 2022 game against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Earlier, during the second innings of the match, another Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf struggled with cramps when he was sending down his third over of his quota.
The footage revealed Shah was writhing in pain when he bowled his fourth over. Shah, who was making his T20I debut managed to dismiss Rohit Sharma’s deputy – KL Rahul for a golden duck when he was bowling the first over of India’s innings.
During the second spell, Shah appeared to be in a lot of pain, however, with sheer courage he sent down his full quota of 4 hours after being attended by team physio on the field. At one point in time, Naseem was down to one long, before he decided to continue with his bowling.
Moreover, despite bowling the fourth over, Naseem was struggling to put in the extra effort.
The video revealed Naseem was in tears when he returned to the dressing room after registering the figures of 2 for 27 in his four overs.
However, Pakistan support staff including bowling coach Shaun Tait greeted the promising bowler on the staircase. The rest of the members also walked up to him and backed him for his remarkable effort on his T20I debut.
Watch Naseem Shah got a bit emotional while making his way to the dressing room:
Naseem Shah going out after his final over. pic.twitter.com/2FMfG2MjAf
— Taimoor Zaman (@taimoorze) August 29, 2022
Following the cramps, Babar Azam maintained that Naseem is doing well.
“Naseem [Shah] is a very young bowler but bowled so well, and showed so much aggression. He is fine. They were just cramps,” Babar Azam said after India eased past Pakistan by five wickets following Hardik Pandya’s all-round show.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is set to face Hong Kong in their last Group B match on September 2. The Men in Green will advance to the Super 4 stage of Asia Cup 2022 if they manage to beat Hong Kong.
