'I realized this guy...' - Naseem Shah recalls moment Abrar Ahmed walked into crease in tense situation on Day 5 against New Zealand

'I realized this guy...' - Naseem Shah recalls moment Abrar Ahmed walked into crease in tense situation on Day 5 against New Zealand (Image Source: Twitter)

Pakistan and New Zealand competed against each other in the second Test of the two-match series that kicked off on January 2, Monday and the match ended in a draw, just when the Kiwis were 1 wicket and the Pakistani team were 15 runs away from the much-anticipated win. It was the likes of Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed who ensured that they kept piling on the runs and staying on the crease without losing the 10th wicket until the umpires interfered to call it a draw. 

Naseem opened up on Abrar’s entry and said that he was communicating about the same to the Black Caps skipper Tim Southee. Saying that he was worried about Abrar’s glasses, Naseem added that he was in awe about the spinner’s confidence as he walked into the crease. 

“When he was coming in, I told (Tim) Southee - look he’s wearing glasses, it’s so late, he won’t be able to see the ball properly. This is not fair. But he walked in with style, as if he was Imran Khan. I realized this guy has confidence,” Naseem was quoted as saying after the match. 

Naseem Shah told me to believe in myself: Abrar Ahmed

Abrar, who jumped into the conversation, said that he got all of his motivation from the young Pakistani pacer and added that the latter advised him to believe in himself. Further, Abrar revealed the advice that he received from Naseem and said that it helped him to stay calm. 

“Naseem told be, ‘have belief in yourself. I have seen you in the nets. You bat well, especially against spinners’. He told me to face the leg-spinner since, being one myself, I can read the googly and flipper. He decided to play the off-spinner. That was our discussion. If we had wickets in hand, we could have chased the target with one-two overs to spare,” Abrar was quoted as saying. 

“I told Southee, if you keep the same field, I will go for the chase. But he sent the fielders back after that four and six. Then I decided I wouldn’t go for it and a draw would be best. You work hard over five days and then it comes down to the last 20-30 minutes, whether we can survive on not or even push for victory,” Naseem concluded.