Pakistani teen’s age questioned

He is sweet – but is he really 16?

Indian media has raised the true age of Pakistan fast bowling sensation Naseem Shah.

The teen made his Test debut against Australia at the Gabba on Thursday at the official age of 16 years and 279 days.

Shah’s official record lists his date of birth as February 15, 2003, making him the youngest Test debutant in Australia.

But reports from India have suggested there is uncertainty around Shah’s true age.

The Print claims he may have been as old as 16 in 2016 when attending a television show cricket camp called Kriket Superstars.

A popular Pakistan cricket Twitter account, Saj Sadiq, claimed earlier this month that Shah was 17.

“Lots of chat regarding Naseem Shah around the world. Just for the record, his correct age is 17 not 16,” Sadiq tweeted on November 14.

Indian media has an obsession with the ages of Pakistani cricket players, and relations between the countries are frosty at best with neither missing an opportunity to have a crack at the other.

There have been cases of “age-fudging” in subcontinental cricket before.

Former Pakistan star Shahid Afridi is officially listed as being born in 1980, making him 16 when he scored a record-breaking 37-ball century in 1996. But Afridi wrote in his recent book that he was born in 1975, making him 21 at the time.

Regardless of his age, Shah made a sizzling start to his Test career by racking up the fastest speeds of any bowler during the match. He hit 147.7km/h in his first over yesterday morning, eclipsing Mitchell Starc (146.5km/h) and Pat Cummins (146km/h).