'He reminds me of myself': Pakistan's bowling coach Shaun Tait lauds Naseem Shah

KARACHI: Pakistan cricket team’s bowling coach Shaun Tait has lauded the team’s young fast bowler Naseem Shah saying that the 19-year-old Pakistani reminds him of his own younger days but added that he wasn’t as intelligent as Naseem is at this age.

Speaking ahead of Pakistan’s training session on Sunday, Tait also praised Pakistan’s pace battery.

“Pakistan fast bowlers have their natural abilities. They like to keep things simple but they've got so much ability and have a lot of flair. So, that's already ingrained in these guys."

Speaking about Shah, Tait said: "In some ways, he reminds me of myself when I was a younger cricketer. He's sort of free-spirited. But I wasn't as intelligent. I think you've all seen his natural abilities and skill with the new ball,” said the Australian bowler about the Pakistani youngster.

When asked about the progress of Shaheen Shah Afridi, the bowling coach said that he isn’t much aware of the medical update and the only thing he has heard about him is that he's coming along well and has made some significant improvement.

Replying to a question about Pakistan vs England series, the bowling coach said that he is expecting a sort of wicket which will be pretty good for wickets and he wouldn’t be surprised if such pitches are prepared for the seven-match series, which starts on September 20.

Tait said that players have played around the world and they know what sort of conditions they would face in any country.

Talking about being in Pakistan’s dressing room with fellow Australian Cricketer Matthew Hayden during the T20 World Cup, Tait said that they will be looking to give players a bit more confidence by being there.

The fast bowling coach of the Pakistan cricket team also shared his thoughts on fiery fast bowler Haris Rauf and said that it was important for him to be consistent in some areas.

“The only thing that we've been talking together about is the consistency I suppose that showed in the Asia Cup, that's it,” Tait said when asked about working with Rauf.

“He's got the pace, he's got the swing, he's got the aggression, all that stuff and we just talked about being more consistent in his areas and bowling in the right areas that were going to make it difficult for the batsman and be more consistent doing that. We worked and we talked about his death bowling a lot and worked on his death bowling as well but they're just the usual things,” he concluded.