Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah opened up about the country's cricketing culture, saying that pacers are often hesitant to request rest due to fears of damaging their careers.
Shah, who recently made a comeback to the game following a five-month injury layoff, stressed the need for the Pakistan cricket team to adopt a culture of workload management, especially for pacers.
Notably, the young pace sensation injured his right shoulder during the Asia Cup 2023, and it led him to miss significant cricketing events, including the ICC World Cup 2023.
Naseem Shah said to CricWick: “I think, unfortunately, in Pakistan, the case is different. Here, the situation is such that if a newcomer performs in one game, the main bowlers are afraid of their place in the XI and wonder if they will be retained for the next game. That fear does not allow players to rest because sometimes when you rest, your career can end up resting in peace.”
Shah further explained, “There’s also a fear among players and our culture is such that if we say our bodies aren’t 100 percent or we are tired, there will be a lot of chatter about our commitment towards playing. Even the players start talking about you so you don’t take rest voluntarily.
The way to avoid that could be if the physio or bowling coach pre-decides the number of games you will play in a series. It will always be better. It [workload management] should happen but it is not in our culture.”
Speaking about his shoulder injury, Shah said: “I didn’t understand it well [my shoulder]. I had stiffness for a while but after warm-ups, I would feel better. I didn’t understand it well, so I played through it. But during the Asia Cup, I had a tear and felt something tearing inside me.”
He signed off by saying, “Later, during the surgery, I found out there was a tear of up to four or five centimetres. I felt a tear when I was bowling the last over against India. Earlier, in the tournament, I had dived and hurt my shoulder but I didn’t think it was serious as I only faced slight stiffness.”
(With CricWick Inputs)
