Pakistan's young gun Naseem Shah rings warning bells for England ahead of Test series

With Pakistani authorities giving a go-ahead to the national team to tour England in July, young speedster Naseem Shah has already cautioned visitors to not underestimate him. The 17-year-old has stated that it would be a big loss for England if they treat him like a 'small kid.' The young gun made his debut against Australia last year and is the youngest to pick a five-wicket haul in Tests. 

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Shah stated that age does not matter but his bowling does. He added that he only knows Joe Root amongst the entire English team. Shah is likely to pair with Shaheen Afridi, however, veteran pacer Wahab Riaz has also made himself available for the test squad. 

READ | Imran Adamant On Pakistan's England Tour: 'people Want To See Cricket Start Despite Covid'

Shah picks his dream wickets 

In an interview with Pakistan's sports website, Shah went on to pick his dream targets - the batsmen whose wicket he would like to pick in international cricket. The young gun started with England's test skipper Joe Root as his first target followed by India's ace opener Rohit Sharma, who has been widely regarded as the best white-ball batsman across the globe, at present. At last, Shah picked Australia's Steve Smith, who is the number-one ranked ICC Test batsman, as his third dream wicket. Surprisingly, Shah snubbed Virat Kohli, whom he has stated that he does not fear to bowl. 

READ | Brad Hogg Rates Pakistan's Naseem Shah Higher Than India's Navdeep Saini In Fast Bowling

Pakistan tour of England 2020

The 1992 World Cup winners will be touring England for a three-match Test series that will be followed by a three-match T20I series from July 30 to September 2, 2020. Meanwhile, the PCB  also announced that spin legend Mushtaq Ahmed has been named as the bowling coach for the upcoming tour while former captain as well as batting great Younis Khan has been appointed as the batting coach.

The PCB had said that taking into account the COVID-19 outlook in Pakistan in the coming weeks, the operational and logistical matters as well the observation that keeping players in a safe and secure environment would remain a challenge, which is why the PCB decided not to hold a training camp prior to their departure for England. Instead, the PCB asked ECB to prepare an itinerary which allows the Pakistan team to reach London early in June. The squad was originally scheduled to land in the UK on July 6.

READ | Ex-Pak Player Throws Weight Behind Naseem Shah, Claims Will Make Virat Kohli His 'bunny'