Haroon Rasheed: “You cannot rule him (Shadab Khan) out because we are also considering the idea that some of our white-ball cricketers can also play Test cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Haroon Rasheed, the former Pakistan chief selector, insisted spinner Shadab Khan’s Test career is not over as there is still a possibility he will return to the format in the future.
The 24-year-old has been a white-ball specialist for the men in green for the past three years as his last Test match came against England in August 2020.
Despite Shadab being the limited overs vice-captain, Rasheed revealed that there has been some consideration about picking a few white-ball cricketers in the Test side.
“You cannot rule him (Shadab Khan) out because we are also considering the idea that some of our white-ball cricketers can also play Test cricket,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
Shadab didn’t play in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka, but did take four wickets in three ODIs against Afghanistan at an average of 23.75.
Currently, the Mianwali native is involved in the Asia Cup, where he has taken five wickets in four games at an average of 38.
Pakistan have had a solid campaign so far as they beat Nepal by 238 runs, shared one point apiece with India after their match was rained off, and defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets. However, they stumbled in their Super Four match against India as they lost by 228 runs.
The men in green will look to rebound from their loss to India in their next Super Four game against Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
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