Shoaib Akhtar: “Shahnawaz Dhani has also been selected but he needs to play more first-class cricket”
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Iconic Pakistan seamer Shoaib Akhtar said fast bowler Shahnawaz Dhani needs to to play more first-class cricket in order to gain more experience.
This comes after Dhani was picked in the Test squad for the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
In the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the 22-year-old took 26 wickets in seven matches for Sindh at an average of 31.19.
He was also one of the standout performers in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he was representing the Multan Sultans.
Dhani was the joint second-highest wicket-taker with nine wickets in four matches at an average of 17.22, bowling strike-rate of 10 and an economy rate of 10.33.
Overall, Dhani has featured in eight first-class matches and taken 27 wickets at an average of 33.70. But, Akhtar feels the talented youngster will benefit if he plays more domestic cricket in the future.
“Shahnawaz Dhani has also been selected but he needs to play more first-class cricket,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and four T20 Internationals against South Africa before heading to Zimbabwe for two Tests and three T20 Internationals.
Pakistan will depart for South Africa on March 26 and the tour will commence on April 2 and conclude on April 16. The ODI series will be played first.
The men in green will then head to Zimbabwe on April 17, but the dates for the matches have yet to be confirmed.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) noted that the national team will travel back to Lahore from Bulawayo on May 12.
Pakistan’s Test Squad: Babar Azam (capt), Imran Butt, Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Tabish Khan, Hasan Ali, Shahnawaz Dhani, Nauman Ali, Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan.