"I beat Naseem many times for playing cricket"
The father of cricketer Naseem Shah revealed some interesting things about his son, including that he used to beat him for neglecting his studies.
The 19-year-old has been a standout for Pakistan during the Asia Cup.
Naseem helped his side to reach the final, eventually losing to Sri Lanka.
His father has now spoken about raising his son.
He revealed: “I beat Naseem many times for playing cricket, asking him to focus on his studies instead.”
Abbas Shah went on to say that he wanted Naseem to go abroad for work but he studied until Grade 10 before pursuing a career in cricket.
Abbas said Naseem always had a lot of talent and when he joined the national team, he did not receive a lot of support.
His father admitted: “None of us supported Naseem, only his brother would secretly give him money.
“When his mother was alive, he used to say that one day I will play for Pakistan.
“We used to laugh saying how will a man from Dir join the Pakistan team.”
Abbas revealed that Naseem misses his mother a lot, who he said was his “biggest fan”.
“He thinks of her and cries a lot. He says if mother was here, she would have been very happy to see me in the Pakistan kit.”
Speaking about Naseem’s performance against Afghanistan, Abbas said:
“I prayed a lot for him in the match against Afghanistan. I felt like I was dreaming [when we won].”
He added that he only knew about cricket when his son played for Pakistan.
In addition to his Asia Cup performances, Naseem Shah has been in the headlines for featuring in an edited video uploaded by actress Urvashi Rautela.
Naseem later reacted to the video and admitted that he did not know who Urvashi is.
He had said: “I am smiling at your question. I don’t know who Urvashi is. I only focus on my match.”
On the matter, Abbas said:
“I have seen it, but I don’t know what is true and what is false. I have no idea about this at all.”
Speaking about Naseem’s marriage plans, Abbas admitted that he has brought it up.
He added: “We had brought marriage up with him [Naseem] but he replied saying he has no intention of marrying anyone for the next four or five years and wants to focus on cricket only.”