Rashid Latif: “We can talk about Omair Bin Yousuf and Muhammad Hurraira. Then there is Saud Shakeel. Their time is about to come”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Rashid Latif, the former wicketkeeper, believes Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Hurraira and Omair Bin Yousuf will be picked regularly going forward, saying “their time is about to come.”
Shakeel has already cemented his place in Pakistan’s Test squad as a middle order batsman as he has made a strong start to the format.
In the seven Tests he has played to date, the 27-year-old from Karachi has amassed 875 runs, which includes two centuries and six fifties, at an average of 87.50.
Hurraira and Yousuf, meanwhile, are two bright prospects in Pakistan cricket and have shown plenty of promise. Aged 21 and 24 years old respectively, they average 68.24 and 43.33 in first-class cricket right now.
“There are chances of young players [being selected]. We can talk about Omair Bin Yousuf and Muhammad Hurraira. Then there is Saud Shakeel. Their time is about to come,” Latif said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Shakeel recently featured in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka, where he made 295 runs, which included a career-best knock of 208 not out, at an average of 147.50.
He then featured in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, scoring nine runs in the one game he played.
Currently, he is part of Pakistan’s squad for the Asia Cup, but has yet to play a game.
Hurraira and Yousuf were not picked for the ongoing tournament.
The men in green won their first match against Nepal by 238 runs, while their second game against India was rained off after the men in blue made 266 in their innings.
Despite the disappointing end of the highly-anticipated clash between the two arch-rivals, Pakistan made it through to the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir