Misbah-ul-Haq: “I don’t doubt Sharjeel’s potential as an opener as he can play at a strike rate of 150. However, he needs a lot of work on his fitness, which he has time for now”

Image courtesy of: Pakistan Super League

Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has revealed that opening batsman Sharjeel Khan needs to lose weight and work on his fitness if he is to have any chance of returning to the national team.

Sharjeel recently made his Pakistan Super League (PSL) comeback after serving two-and-a-half years of a five-year ban he received for his involvement in a spot-fixing scandal in the 2017 PSL.

In this year’s PSL, the 30-year-old, who played for the Karachi Kings, scored 199 runs at an average of 24.87 and a strike-rate of 144.20.

However, many former players identified Sharjeel’s weight as a huge problem, and Misbah admitted that the opener “needs a lot of work on his fitness”.

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“I don’t doubt Sharjeel’s potential as an opener as he can play at a strike rate of 150. However, he needs a lot of work on his fitness, which he has time for now,” Misbah was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan. “He also needs to lose weight which will eventually improve his fitness.

“Sharjeel needs to keep in mind that his fitness needs to be at the same level as other players in the team. Once he meets the standard required for international cricket, only then he will be considered for national selection. I am confident that Sharjeel will focus on improving his fitness.”

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