Mohammad Amir: “People had doubts about Saud, but he proved himself with surprising decisions”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir has applauded middle order batsman Saud Shakeel for proving his doubters wrong with consistently strong performances.
Shakeel has become one of Pakistan’s go-to middle order players in Test cricket and is starting to be used more often in ODI cricket as well.
Most recently, the 28-year-old dominated in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he played as an opener for the Quetta Gladiators.
In 10 matches, he amassed 323 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 35.88 and a strike-rate of 141.66.
“People had doubts about Saud, but he proved himself with surprising decisions,” Amir told Geo News.
Amir featured in nine games in PSL 9 and took 10 wickets at an average of 28.60 and an economy rate of 8.41.
The Gladiators managed to make it to the playoffs, but ended up losing to Islamabad United in Eliminator 1.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will be held in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18 to 27.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20I Series: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan
Non-travelling reserves: Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha
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