Nasser Hussain: “One thing that they lack, which is unusual for Pakistan, is their spinners are a little bit out of form. Shadab Khan hasn’t been that good recently”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Pakistan spinner Shadab Khan “hasn’t been that good recently.”
Shadab’s form has been an area of concern for the men in green since he is the team’s go-to spinner and the limited overs vice-captain as well.
Given his subpar performances over the past couple of months, questions have been raised about whether the 25-year-old should be dropped from the national team.
However, Hussain noted that Pakistan find themselves in an “unusual” situation as none of their spinners have been getting the job done.
“One thing that they lack, which is unusual for Pakistan, is their spinners are a little bit out of form. Shadab Khan hasn’t been that good recently,” he said on Sky Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
In the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, Shadab has only managed to take two wickets in five games at an average of 90 and an economy rate of 6.42.
Pakistan started with consecutive wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before being beaten by India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
It should be noted that Shadab suffered an injury scare in the match against South Africa as he banged his head on the ground while fielding.
It remains to be seen if he will play in Pakistan’s next World Cup match against Bangladesh on October 31 in Kolkata.
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