Naseem Shah Height, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Naseem Shah

• Naseem Shah is a Pakistani cricketer, who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team primarily as a bowler.

• Naseem grew up in a middle-class family in Mayar Jandool, Lower Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
  

  An old picture of Naseem Shah

• He developed an interest in cricket at a young age and ever since then wanted to represent his country in cricket at the international level.

• His father was not happy with his decision to make a career in cricket and wanted Naseem to go abroad for work.

• As a kid, he started playing tape-ball cricket in his village.

• A few years later, his uncle enrolled him at the Abdul Qadir cricket academy in Lahore, where he was trained by coach Sulaman Qadir.

• At the age of 13, he started playing for the Lahore Under-16 cricket team.

• A year later, he was included in Pakistan’s Under-16 team.

•  On 1 September 2018, he made his first-class domestic debut for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited in the 2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

• Naseem played his first List A match for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited in the 2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup on 16 October 2018.

• In September 2019, Naseem was included in Central Punjab’s squad for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

• On 13 October 2019, Naseem played his debut match for Central Punjab in the 2019–20 National T20 Cup.

• A month later, he made his international Test debut for Pakistan against Australia in Brisbane; Naseem lost his mother a day before his international debut.

• He represented St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the 2021 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). On 15 September 2021, during the final match of the tournament, Naseem took two crucial wickets and helped St Kitts and Nevis Patriots register their win over Saint Lucia Kings by 3 wickets.

• In January 2022, he was picked up as a replacement by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club during the first half of a Caribbean Premier League in England. He was dropped from the team for around a month following a shoulder injury in his first match of the tournament.
  

  Naseem Shah during a cricket match of the Caribbean Premier League

• With his impressive performances in franchise cricket, Naseem made a place for himself in the 2022 season of The Hundred, where he represented Welsh Fire.

• Prior to his international Test debut, Shah played a three-day warm-up match for Pakistan against Australia A.

• During his debut international Test match for Pakistan against Australia on 21 November 2019 in Brisbane, Australia, Naseem dismissed David Warner for his first Test wicket. He was 16 years old at that time. Shah delivered a ball of 147 km/h or 91.3 mph in his first-ever over, impressing many senior cricketers.

• Later, he was named in Pakistan’s Test squad for a two-match series against Sri Lanka. In the second match of the series, Naseem claimed 5 wickets, becoming the youngest fast bowler (second among all the bowlers) in the world to take his first five-wicket haul.
  

  Naseem Shah during a Test match

• Although earlier he was named in the Pakistan squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, his name was withdrawn from the list following his impressive performances in Test cricket. Confirming that Naseem was removed from the squad for cricketing reasons and not age-related concerns, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in January 2020 issued a statement stating that they had checked and verified the ages of all cricketers who were to play in their U19 team.

• On 9 February 2020, during his first Test match against Bangladesh, Naseem dismissed three wickets in an over, becoming the youngest bowler to take a Test hat-trick.
  

  Naseem Shah celebrating after taking a hat-trick

• Subsequently, he was named in the men’s central contract list for the 2020-2021 season by PCB.

• A month later, he was named in Pakistan’s squad for its tour to England. He was also included in Pakistan’s Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against England.

• In August 2022, Naseem was included the Pakistan squad for their One Day International tour of the Netherlands. During the last match of the series, Naseem Shah took his maiden fifer in the ODIs.
  

  Naseem Shah celebrating Pakistan’s victory in a match

• During the 2022 Asia Cup, Naseem Shah in a match against Afghanistan, delivered two back-to-back sixes in the final over, qualifying Pakistan for the finals. During the post-match media conversation, when Ravi Shastri praised his bowling, Naseem said,
  

  Bowling toh achi rahi hai lekin I think ab sab bhul gaye ki main bowler bhi hoon (laughs).”

  Further, saying that besides bowling, he could also play some good shots, Naseem said,

  Jab mai batting pr aya tha to mujhe believe tha ki mai chakke toh maar skta hoon kyuki mai practice to krta hoon. Mujhe ye pata tha ki vo kosish krenge ki mujhe yorker kare, aur maine kosish ki aur allah ne laga diye (When I came out to bat I know that I can hit sixes because I had practiced. I already knew their plan was to bowl yorkers, so I tried going bat and by God’s grace it clicked).”

• In the same year, he was named in Pakistan’s T20I squad for the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. With his impressive performances throughout the World Cup, Naseem helped Pakistan qualify for the final, where Pakistan lost to England by 5 wickets.

• He was later included in Pakistan’s Test squad for England’s tour of Pakistan. However, he was ruled out of the series after the first match following a shoulder injury.

• In January 2023, Naseem was named in the Pakistan squad for its ODI series against New Zealand. In the first match of the series, Naseem took his second fifer in ODIs and a consecutive fifer.

• He has also played for Quetta Gladiators in Pakistan Super League.
  

  Naseem Shah in action during a match between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi

• In an interview, while revealing that his international debut came just a day after his mother’s demise, Naseem said,
  

  When I went for my international debut, the night before that match the team management came to me and told me that my mother has passed away. I just fainted at that moment and I was unable to understand that what actually happened. I tried my best to attend my mother’s funeral but unfortunately I could not as I was far away from my homeland.”

  

  Naseem Shah during his visit to his mother’s grave

• In an interview, Naseem’s father revealed that initially, his family was not happy with Naseem making his career in cricket. He said,
  

  I beat Naseem many times for playing cricket, asking him to focus on his studies instead. None of us supported Naseem, only his brother would secretly give him money.”

  In the same interview, while talking about Naseem’s bond with his mother, his father said,

  When his mother was alive, he used to say that one day I will play for Pakistan. We used to laugh saying how will a man from Dir join the Pakistan team. He thinks of her and cries a lot. He says if Mother was here, she would have been very happy to see me in the Pakistan kit.”

• In his leisure time, Naseem loves to play football.
  

  Naseem Shah playing football

• Naseem is very particular about his fitness and follows a strict workout regimen.
  

  Naseem Shah during his workout session

• During the 2022 Asia Cup, Urvashi Rautela shared a video on social media which went viral. In the video Naseem and Urvashi could be seen smiling at each other, and romantic music was playing in the background. In a media conversation, when asked to comment on the video, Naseem gave a hilarious answer that he had no clue who Urvashi Rautela was. He said,
  

  Smile toh aapke question pe aa rha hei (I am smiling at your question.) I don’t know who Urvashi Rautela is. I only focus on my match. People usually send me videos but I have no idea. I have nothing special in me but I thank people who come to watch cricket and give a lot of respect.”

• To help the survivors of the devastating floods in Pakistan in 2022, Naseem Shah auctioned his bat with which he had struck two sixes against Afghanistan during the 2022 Asia Cup. He used the proceeds of the same to provide basic necessities to the victims of the flood. Informing the public about the same, he shared a video on Twitter in which he said,
  

  This bat is very precious for me but [keeping in view] the situation in the wake of floods in Pakistan, I am giving it to Shahid Afridi Foundation because Lala always helps the destitute and deserving people whenever there is a hard time.”

• In February 2023, he was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of Balochistan Police.
  

  Naseem Shah as the Goodwill Ambassador of Balochistan Police

• Naseem was charged 10 per cent of the match fee as a fine by the Pakistan Super League for kicking stumps during a match against Multan Sultans at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on 10 March 2024.