'Reminded me of Javed Miandad's six in Sharjah' - Babar Azam lauds Naseem Shah for his heroics in the Afghanistan clash

Babar Azam, Naseem Shah (Image Source: Twitter)

Pakistan and Afghanistan crossed swords in the Super 4 round of the Asia Cup 2022. The Men in Green won the match on the back of Naseem Shah’s heroics. The two teams came into the match after sweating it hard in the nets. The Men in Green were just a win away to throw India and Afghanistan out of the tournament and register a place in the finals.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, needed a win to sustain itself in the Asia Cup 2022. The team’s win will also mean that India would stay alive in the tournament as well. However, Afghanistan, after being put to bat first, crawled past the 120-mark.

They ended up aggregating a total of 129 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. A low score compared to that of the previous ones, and it all looked like Pakistan’s game right from ball one. But the Men in Green collapsed mid-way and it was Naseem Shah who won it for Pakistan with two maximums in the final over.

Babar Azam, the skipper, was all praises for the youngster who has been impressive right throughout the tournament. “At the back of the mind, I thought this is T20 cricket, and I have seen Naseem bat like this, so I had a little bit of belief. This reminded me of Javed Miandad's six in Sharjah,” Azam said in the presentation ceremony post the clash.

I had the belief I could hit sixes: Naseem Shah

The young pacer from Pakistan said that he believed in himself and backed himself to go big. He sprinkled hints on his practice sessions and said that he kept practising big hits.

"When I came in to bat, I had the belief I could hit sixes. I practice this. I knew they would bowl yorkers. I just tried and I executed. I had spoken earlier itself that we need to have belief, we can hit. We train in the nets, so that belief was there. I felt my bat was not good, so I changed it (laughs)," Shah said.