Pakistan fast-bowler Naseem Shah has called facing Virat Kohli on his T20I debut a “good experience”. Notably, Naseem made his T20I debut against India in the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai.
Naseem, who has been out of cricket action since September last year, is set to return to cricket with the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he will represent Islamabad United.
Speaking on the Islamabad United Podcast, Naseem said he facing a big team like India on debut gives margin in other matches.
“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 talked about facing superstar Virat Kohli on his debut and revealed that he was expecting that the Indian star would go hard at him.
Kohli scored 35 runs off 34 balls in the game as India beat Pakistan by 5 runs on a tricky surface.
“When Virat Kohli came in to 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, 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”, the young pacer added.
Speaking about the crowd and atmosphere in the India vs Pakistan matches, Naseem revealed that he couldn’t hear the voice of then-captain Babar Azam during the 2022 T20 World Cup match.
“I remember the match against India in Melbourne, I couldn’t hear Babar’s voice despite him standing next to me. That is how loud it was. The crowds focus on each and every ball. So it’s obvious that pressure would be there if there is so much focus on this game”, Naseem recalled.
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