Naseem Shah’s tears are breaking Pakistanis’ hearts
Pakistani pacer Naseem Shah has left cricket fans heartbroken after he teared up following Pakistan’s nail-biting loss against India in last night’s ICC T20 World Cup match. Shah appeared inconsolable as India won the match by six runs.
Pictures of him crying went viral as the match ended, and Pakistanis couldn’t help but shower him with their love and support.
On the pitch, even the Indian team was spotted consoling Shah, with captain Rohit Sharma patting him on the back. Fans were quick to highlight that Shah’s efforts earned him “respect and appreciation from the rivals”. We’re not going to lie, seeing how dejected the pacer looked as he shook hands with Indian cricketers almost had us in tears too.
It’s hurting our hearts just looking at these pictures and reliving the trauma. We hope you’re grateful for this article because we hate looking at Naseem Shah upset.
Musicians Hassan and Roshaan declared that their next album would be dedicated to Shah. They weren’t alone in expressing such sentiments, as another X (formerly Twitter) user proclaimed that they would name their daughter after the cricketer.
We have an inkling that Naseem is about to become a really popular name really soon.
What made the whole situation worse was that Shah performed outstandingly in the match. He made 10 runs off four balls, including two boundaries, while Shahdab Khan, Imad Wasim and Iftikhar Ahmed combined “couldn’t hit even one boundary in 39 balls faced”.
Fans of the sport — including those “ridiculously impartial” to Pakistan’s performances — emphasised how “heartbreaking” the scene was and criticised the performances of batsmen who fell short, with some urging them to “resign gracefully” to make room for younger, better players.
Others called for Shah to be named captain of the Pakistan cricket team as he appeared to be the only one who cared about the outcome of the match.
Support continued to pour in long after the match was over, with people praising his “warrior spirit” as the only positive.
“Though Pakistan lost, Naseem Shah emerged as a true winner,” a netizen wrote, and we couldn’t agree more.
Meanwhile, fans were ready to give their whole hearts to Shah. Literally.
“You’re a hero. The whole country is behind you, Naseem Shah.”
We hope the cricketer feels better soon, but more so we hope the Pakistan Cricket Board is paying for his therapy.
Banner photo credits icc-cricket.com