It hardly felt like he’d been away, yet this was Naseem Shah’s first competitive red-ball outing since last December. The 22-year-old quick slotted straight back into old habits, bagging 5 for 34 as Lahore Whites rolled Islamabad for 256 on the third afternoon of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy opener.
The wickets came in a rush. With his third new-ball over he burst one through Rizwan Ali, the ball jagging in from a side-on release and brushing the top of off stump. From there the middle order never really settled. Islamabad slipped from a steady 90 for 2 to a shaky 128 for 6, five of those blows delivered by the elder Shah. Skipper Hasan Nawaz edged behind, while fellow international Haris Rauf became victim number five after deciding attack was the best way out.
Younger brother Ubaid Shah, still raw but lively, removed both openers and finished with 2 for 56. Between them the siblings collected seven of the first eight wickets – handy bragging rights for the family dinner table.
This is Naseem’s fifth first-class five-for, the first since a Shaheens trip to Pallekele in 2021. The earlier three arrived when he was still a teenager, including that eye-catching burst against Sri Lanka in just his third Test, a spell that earned him the tag of Test cricket’s second-youngest five-wicket man. That kind of early impact tends to follow a player around, and with it the expectation that every comeback will look effortless. On Tuesday it pretty much did.
Yet a place in Pakistan’s immediate Test plans remains elusive. Selectors have leaned towards spin-heavy attacks on home surfaces, meaning Naseem missed the recent West Indies series and is absent again for the forthcoming home Tests versus South Africa. His white-ball stocks have dipped too; he sat out both the Asia Cup and the T20I leg of the South Africa tour.
None of that bothered Lahore coach Salman Butt, who shrugged, “He’s been training for this format; give him overs and the rest takes care of itself.” Simple message, simple result.
Islamabad’s lower order, led by an unbeaten 43 from all-rounder Afaq Khan, did lift the total past 250, a figure that keeps the contest alive. Even so, with Naseem bowling quickly and confidently and the Whites’ top order fresh, the hosts will feel the first-innings advantage is there for the taking when play resumes on Wednesday.
