‘Brother I have just 30 per cent English, it is finished now,’ Naseem Shah’s honest admission wins heart

The right-arm pacer was on Tuesday (November 29) interacting with media persons ahead of the historic Test series against England. The 19-year-old quick when enquired by a foreign journalist, quipped in a funny way that he knows only 30 per cent of English and that he’s exhausted all his knowledge of English comprehension. Listening to his witty response the entire room broke into a burst of rapturous laughter.

Ahead of the first of three Test matches, Shah spoke on multiple topics in the lead-up to the highly-anticipated series, which carries the World Test Championships points.

It was during this interaction that a reporter asked Naseem about legendary England pacer James Anderson’s longevity. Even at the age of 40, the right-arm seamer remains England’s primary fast bowler and Shah was all praise for the English legend.

“It’s a very big achievement because I’m a fast bowler, I know how hard it is. He’s a legend, we learn a lot of things from him. When we meet, we discuss about this. He’s still playing at 40, he’s still fit, so you can imagine how much hard work he’s putting,” Shah said.

When the reporter further asked the Pakistani pacer about his opinion on the ‘pace vs skills’ debate, the youngster cut him short and made a hilarious remark about his English language comprehension.

“Brother, I have just 30 per cent English. My English is finished now, okay?” Naseem said.

The reporter later refined his question and the Pakistan cricketer claimed that the experience in top-flight cricket for such a long period of time has helped Anderson get better.

“I told you, he’s the legend. He knows everything. He knows how to take wickets because he has played cricket everywhere in the world. That’s why he’s one of the best bowlers in the world,” said Naseem.

England have arrived in Pakistan to play a Test series after a gap of 17 years. The last time an English side visited Pakistan for a red-ball series was back in 2005.