Matthew Hayden: “He is an individual of absolute quality”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Matthew Hayden, the legendary Australia opening batsman, has hailed the talent Pakistan spinner Shadab Khan possesses, saying he is “absolute quality.”
Shadab is a key member of the Pakistan team in limited overs cricket as he takes wickets with his spin bowling and can score quick runs lower down the order.
Having worked with the 24-year-old during his tenure as the team’s batting consultant and mentor during the 2021 T20 World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup respectively, Hayden is well aware of just how useful the Mianwali native is.
“He is an individual of absolute quality,” the 51-year-old told Star Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Shadab was not selected for Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka, but he did feature in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan and finished with four wickets at an average of 23.75.
Most recently, he played in the Asia Cup and claimed six wickets in five games at an average of 40.83.
Pakistan kickstarted their campaign with a 238-run win over Nepal before sharing one point apiece with India as their match was washed out.
Despite this, the men in green made it to the Super Four stage and proceeded to beat Bangladesh by seven wickets.
Their unbeaten run was stopped by India as they lost to their arch-rivals by 228 runs.
They then succumbed to a two-wicket defeat via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method in their match against Sri Lanka, which resulted in them getting eliminated from the Asia Cup.
Pakistan will now be involved in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India, which will get underway on October 5.
Their opening game will be against the Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali