Basit Ali: “Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz can be a bit handy down the order”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has backed Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz as lower order batsmen, saying they “can be a bit handy.”
In the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, Shadab has shown signs of his batting prowess as he made 32 against the Netherlands, 40 against Afghanistan and 43 against South Africa.
As for Nawaz, he scored 39 and 24 against the Netherlands and South Africa respectively.
“Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz can be a bit handy down the order,” Basit said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Geo Super.
While Shadab and Nawaz have shown some fight with the bat, they have been heavily criticised for their disappointing bowling in the World Cup.
Shadab has been limited to two wickets in five games at an average of 90 and an economy rate of 6.42.
As for Nawaz, he has also claimed two wickets in five games, but at an average of 111.50 and an economy rate of 5.89.
Pakistan started off the World Cup with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
They snapped their four-game losing streak with a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in Kolkata.
They will now be looking to make it two wins in a row when they go up against New Zealand on November 4 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
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