Daily Times

LAHORE: Young pace sensation Naseem Shah and opening batsman Abid Ali are eager to perform more for Pakistan in the future. The 17-year-old Naseem is now eyeing spot in limited-overs cricket after a great start in Tests for Pakistan. “Test cricket is the toughest format among all and if you have the required fitness for Tests, then ODI and T20I cricket become easier,” he said while talking in a podcast with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday. Naseem said he was keen on making a mark in limited-overs cricket, after a successful start to his Test career. Naseem is the youngest Test bowler in history to take a fifer and a hat-trick in consecutive Tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Karachi and Rawalpindi, respectively. “Whenever I’m given an opportunity I am ready to perform in limited-overs cricket like Tests,” Naseem added. “One year of back injury was a difficult time. I doubted myself a little after I wasn’t able to perform during the Test series in Australia. However, I kept giving my 100 percent and worked really hard to make a comeback in the following Test matches,” said Naseem. “Test cricket is the toughest format.

If you have the required fitness for Tests, then ODI and T20I cricket becomes easier. The 32-year Abid who was in the category C last year has recently been awarded category B this time for his breakthrough performances in Tests and ODIs. He is now aiming category A in the upcoming season. “I was awarded category C because of my performances in domestic cricket. I am very happy after being promoted to the B category as I performed really well on my ODI debut against Australia and during the Test series against Sri Lanka,” said Abid. “Now I have an additional responsibility to work on my fitness and skills. My wish is to get further promoted from category B to category A through more performances,” he added.