KARACHI:
Shadab Khan is among the most successful all-rounders of Pakistan cricket team. Mainly a leg-spin bowler, Shadab is also good with the bat and fits well in the middle order. His performance in T20 and ODI formats of the game has been brilliant. In T20Is, he has scored 569 runs at a strike rate of 137, having rendered memorable services in 2019, 2020 and 2021 World Cups. And in ODIs, he has 855 runs to his credit. His performance in Asia Cup 2022 against Afghanistan proved match winning. A googly master, Shadab has taken 104 wickets in T20Is and 85 wickets in ODIs. Shadab is also regarded as one of the best fielders as he is the most agile player in Pakistan team, who has the rare ability to catch the ball in air with a huge jump.
Every player faces downfall in his career. In 2023, Shadab suffered a bad patch. He failed to perform both with the bat and the ball. He was thus dropped in the T20 series between Pakistan and New Zealand in 2024. Everyone started criticising Shabad having forgotten too early his performances that made Pakistan proud.
PCB first removed Shadab as vice-captain, and then the chief selector gave him fewer opportunities to represent the team, simply ignoring the fact that form is temporary and class is permanent. But by winning the PSL 9 as Islamabad United captain, he has proved that he is a naturally gifted player, having leadership qualities as well.
It is not fair to drop such a committed player from the national team who is also performing well currently. PCB should bring Shadab back in the national team. He is the among the world’s leading all-rounders and is a match-winner. Without him, our team will suffer way too much.
Faqiha Eman
Kasur
Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2024.
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