Mushtaq Ahmed: “You look at Khushdil Shah and he won us three matches right towards the end. Every player has a role and once they start fulfilling it, the teams tend to perform better and better”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Ex-Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed said hard-hitting batsman Khushdil Shah is a finisher and match-winner.
He noted that the 27-year-old won the Multan Sultans three games in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is his role in the team as he is there to finish games and lead the team to victory in pressure situations.
Mushtaq noted that just like Khushdil, every player has their own role to fulfill, which is how teams “perform better and better”.
“You look at Khushdil Shah and he won us three matches right towards the end. Every player has a role and once they start fulfilling it, the teams tend to perform better and better,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
In PSL 7, Khushdil amassed 153 runs in 12 matches at an average of 25.50 and a strike-rate of 182.14.
The middle order batsman’s ability to provide plenty of fireworks towards the end of the innings earned him a spot in Pakistan’s ODI and T20 squads for the upcoming limited overs series against Australia.
A total of three ODIs and one T20 International will be played, with the series starting on March 29 and being played entirely in Lahore.
Pakistan’s ODI squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir
Pakistan’s T20I squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir