Shadab Khan: “Babar, Rizwan, Imam are our consistent players”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan spinner Shadab Khan believes former captain Babar Azam, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and opener Imam-ul-Haq are the three players who have been the most consistent as of late.
Azam and Rizwan have both been scoring runs in the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, but Imam has been disappointing with the bat and was even dropped for the team’s last two matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Azam made 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40, while Rizwan amassed 395 runs in nine games, which included a hundred and a half-century, at an average of 65.83.
As for Imam, he mustered 162 runs in six matches, which includes a top score of 70, at an average of 27.
Regardless of the 27-year-old’s lack of runs in the World Cup, Shadab still thinks he has been one of Pakistan’s most consistent performers over the last few months.
“Babar, Rizwan, Imam are our consistent players,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Shadab himself wasn’t in good form in the World Cup as he took two wickets in six games at an average of 118.50 and an economy rate of 6.23.
Pakistan started the tournament on a high as they beat the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before faltering against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
They ended their four-game winning streak with a win over Bangladesh before going on to take down New Zealand as well.
However, they failed to make it to the semi-finals and lost their last group stage match against England by 93 runs.
Azam, Rizwan and Imam will now feature in Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia, but Shadab was not selected.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will get underway on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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