Mohammad Hafeez: “Saud Shakeel, Hasan Ali & Abdullah Shafique are doing exceptionally well in this World Cup so far who actually were not in [the] plans of the brain trust. Interesting”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Mohammad Hafeez, the former all-rounder, has pointed out that opener Abdullah Shafique, middle order batsman Saud Shakeel and fast bowler Hasan Ali were not initially part of the plans for the World Cup.
Shakeel stole the spotlight in the team’s 81-run win against the Netherlands as he was named Man of the Match for his career-best knock of 68, which came off 52 balls and included nine boundaries and a six.
Shafique starred in the team’s six-wicket win over Sri Lanka after being given the chance to replace the underperforming Fakhar Zaman.
The 23-year-old from Sialkot smashed a career-high 113, which came off 103 balls and included 10 boundaries and three sixes, as the men in green chased down 345 runs, making it the highest successful run chase in World Cup history.
Hasan, meanwhile, was included in the World Cup squad as a replacement for Naseem Shah, who suffered a shoulder injury during the Asia Cup.
Having been given the opportunity to revive his international career, the 29-year-old grabbed it with both hands as he took two wickets against the Netherlands and four against Sri Lanka.
Hafeez noted that it is “interesting” to see the trio being among the top performers for Pakistan at the World Cup so far, even though they seemed unlikely to be selected in the team a little while back.
“Saud Shakeel, Hasan Ali & Abdullah Shafique are doing exceptionally well in this World Cup so far who actually were not in [the] plans of the brain trust. Interesting,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan’s next World Cup game will be against India on October 14 in Ahmedabad.
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
[TS_Poll id=”87″]