KARACHI: Pakistan’s premium pacer Naseem Shah blamed the sudden shift from T20 to the longest format of the game for the pervasive injuries to the team’s fast bowlers in the recently concluded home Test season.
Naseem, who impressed the other day with a five-wicket haul in the first ODI against New Zealand, said he and fellow pacers would try to manage their workload in future in order to avoid such adverse situations.
“Unfortunately, we did not have any other pacers ready for the series (Tests), so we had to play it,” he said in a post-match press conference on Monday. “We went from bowling four overs (in T20s) to longer spells in Test cricket, which obviously overload your muscles.”
Naseem missed the second and third Tests of the England series in the previous month due to a shoulder injury. He returned to the Test side only in the second Test against New Zealand.
Meanwhile, fellow pacer Haris Rauf was left out of both series after sustaining a quad injury in the first Test against England in Rawalpindi.
Both the pacers were included in Pakistan’s ODI squad for the three-match series against New Zealand and played the first game yesterday.
Naseem rattled New Zealand’s batting line with his express pace and returned outstanding bowling figures of 5 for 57 to help Pakistan seal a convincing six-wicket win.
“I bowled according to my strength and the plan, and produced the desired results,” he said, calling the victory an overall team effort.
“I enjoy playing every format and try to improve my game day by day,” he replied when asked whether he like the white-ball format more than the red-ball.
READ: New Zealand’s Mark Coles appointed Pakistan Women head coach
