Yasir, who boasts an impressive record of 148 wickets in 46 first-class matches, said while there will be lot of pressure in the absence of seasoned spinners Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi, he will try and rise to the occasion during the Zimbabwe series and shoulder the burden in the spin department. -File photo

SWABI: Leg-spinner Yasir Shah has said he will try and do his best on the forthcoming tour of Zimbabwe and will justify his selection, if given a chance, in all formats of the game.

“I will try my level best to perform well on the Zimbabwe tour and will use all my skills to justify my selection,” he said while addressing a function arranged in his honour here on Tuesday.

Yasir, who boasts an impressive record of 148 wickets in 46 first-class matches, said while there will be lot of pressure in the absence of seasoned spinners Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi, he will try and rise to the occasion during the Zimbabwe series and shoulder the burden in the spin department.

“They [Afridi and Kaneria] are fantastic bowlers and their absence will be felt. But I will put in my best effort to dent the opposition on the tour,” said a confident looking Yasir.

Yasir, born to a farmer in May 1986 at Gohati (Swabi) started playing domestic cricket in 2003 and soon graduated to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa team. He went from strength to strength from then on, representing Abbottabad Rhinos and the Pakistan Customs teams. He is currently playing for the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in domestic cricket.

Besides that, Yasir has also represented Pakistan in the Under-15, U-17, U-19 and U-21 outfits.

Aamir Nawab Khan, president of the Abbottabad Regional Cricket Association and member of the PCB’s Governing Board, on Tuesday lauded Yasir’s selection in the Pakistan team and said the spinner thoroughly deserved the berth.

Aamir, who is also the president of Swabi District Cricket Association, said Yasir had a great chance to display his skills in international cricket because he had worked very hard on his game during the past few years.

“Yasir can make the most of his selection in the absence of Afridi and Kaneria,” said Aamir.

He added that with the selection of many youngsters in the 16-member squad for Zimbabwe it was evident that the PCB was encouraging newcomers to come forward and showcase their talent at top level.

Yasir becomes only the second player to represent Swabi in the national team after young pacer Junaid Khan who was part of Pakistan’s World Cup squad in February this year.

Junaid also played ODIs and Tests on the recent West Indies tour.