'Young bowlers are prone to injuries' - Azhar Mahmood suggests Naseem Shah to play more cricket to become less prone to injury

Naseem Shah, the young prodigy from Pakistan hit the headlines with his fiery bowling at such a young age. The 17-year-old is one of the fastest bowlers across his country. He is still quite raw and young but his awareness about the game is remarkable. He recently played in Pakistan Super League 2020 for Quetta Gladiators and did a good job with the ball for his side.

Several former players from Pakistan feel that they have got another fantastic bowler. On the other hand, Azhar Mahmood has come out with some good advice for the promising speedster.

Naseem Shah– 17-year-old made his debut against Australia in Test cricket and he dismissed David Warner as his first wicket in international cricket. Shah hit the headlines after he grabbed a hat-trick against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi Test as he became the youngest fast bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket. In the recently concluded PSL 2020, he played for Quetta Gladiators and did a commendable job.

Azhar Mahmood has important advice for Naseem Shah

Azhar Mahmood has suggested the youngster to play more cricket in order to stay away from the injuries. It is well known that injuries are the part and parcel of the game. In the past, bowlers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis also sustained injuries in their initial phase. It happens because the body is not used to such a heavy workload.

Moreover, Naseem Shah has already gone through some of them on the tour of Australia and in PSL 2020. It is never going to be easy for a bowler like him, who bowls at a speed around 145 km/hr.

However, the management is quite experienced so, they are expected to bring the best out of Naseem Shah in the near future. According to Azhar Mahmood, the best option for Naseem Shah to stay away from injuries is to play more and more cricket in order to make his body used to such workload.

“It is a well-known fact that younger bowlers are prone to injuries and this is not something that Naseem Shah is prone to specifically. We saw that in the earlier days of their careers, even Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis suffered injuries.

This is because the body of a young bowler is still getting used to the workload, so chances of sustaining injuries is higher. Naseem Shah has already had injuries as we saw on the Australia tour and also recently in PSL as well. It’s not always going to be easy for a bowler like Naseem as he bowls around 145KpH,” Azhar Mahmood wrote in his column for PakPassion.

“He will need to be looked after by the PCB and attention needs to be given to his fitness as well. His action does make him a candidate for injury, but I am confident that Waqar Younis as bowling coach of Pakistan and his coaching colleagues will take care of these issues for Naseem. Regardless of this, it’s when Naseem Shah plays more cricket and his body gets used to stresses is when he will become less prone to injury,” he added.