Rashid Latif: “Whatever the outcome of the World Cup, whether we win or lose, you have to make changes. Players like Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Haris have long cricket [careers] after [the] World Cup in [the] ODI format”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Rashid Latif, the former Pakistan captain, has backed batsmen Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Haris to have long ODI careers following the conclusion of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
Shakeel, 28, is currently playing in the tournament, where he made a career-best 68 against the Netherlands before scoring 31 runs against Sri Lanka.
Having beaten both the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, Pakistan saw their perfect record in the World Cup come to an end when India thumped them by seven wickets.
In that match, Shakeel only mustered six runs before being trapped lbw off the bowling of India spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
Haris, meanwhile, isn’t part of the World Cup squad, but has represented Pakistan in six ODIs to date.
Latif noted that no matter what happens in the World Cup, the Pakistan selectors are likely to throw their support behind the duo as they are brimming with potential and can play for the country for a long time.
“Whatever the outcome of the World Cup, whether we win or lose, you have to make changes. Players like Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Haris have long cricket [careers] after [the] World Cup in [the] ODI format,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
The men in green will aim to rebound from the loss to India when they take on Australia on October 20 in Bengaluru.
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
At the core of the points table lies the rankings of all participating teams. The teams are listed in descending order based on the number of points they have accumulated. A higher ranking indicates a better performance.