Saud Shakeel: “I have gained a lot from him; he is the world’s best batsman, so there is a lot to learn from him”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Pakistan rising star Saud Shakeel has labelled limited overs captain Babar Azam as the “world’s best batsman”, putting him ahead of everyone else.

Shakeel’s praise for Azam comes at a time when the 29-year-old has been struggling to score runs consistently for a few months.

Nonetheless, he has shown his full support for Azam and believes he can still learn a lot from the Lahore native as he has achieved many great accomplishments in his career thus far.

“I have gained a lot from him; he is the world’s best batsman, so there is a lot to learn from him,” Shakeel told Cricket Pakistan.

Both Shakeel and Azam were recently in action for Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia, with the former amassing 92 runs at an average of 15.33.

Azam, meanwhile, made 126 runs at an average of 21.

Following their tour of Australia, the men in green took on New Zealand in a five-match T20I series and lost 4-1.

Shakeel didn’t play in that series, but Azam finished with 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142.

Shakeel recently played for the Quetta Gladiators in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and made 323 runs in 10 matches, which included two fifties, at an average of 35.88 and a strike-rate of 141.66.

Azam, meanwhile, captained the Peshawar Zalmi and finished as the highest run-scorer in PSL 9 with 569 runs in 11 games, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 56.90 and a strike-rate of 142.60.

Pakistan’s next assignment will be a five-match T20I series against New Zealand in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18 to 27.

Quetta Gladiators Squad for PSL 9: Rilee Rossouw (captain), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Wasim, Jason Roy, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammad Hasnain, Abrar Ahmed, Will Smeed, Saud Shakeel, Sajjad Ali, Usman Qadir, Omair Bin Yousuf, Adil Naz, Khawaja Nafay, Akeal Hosein, Sohail Khan, Laurie Evans, Bismillah Khan

Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asif Ali, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufiyan Muqeem, Waqar Salamkheil, Arshad Iqbal, Gus Atkinson, Shamar Joseph

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