Rilee Rossouw: “I think Saud Shakeel has been one of our better batting performers throughout this whole competition and he’s come in after a couple of years of waiting to play and he’s really put up his hand phenomenally”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Quetta Gladiators captain Rilee Rossouw has lavished praise on Pakistan batsman Saud Shakeel, saying he was one of the team’s “better batting performers” during the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Shakeel usually plays as a middle order batsman for the men in green, but during PSL 9, he was given the chance to open the batting and didn’t let it go to waste.
The 28-year-old dominated at the top of the order, scoring 323 runs in 10 matches, which included two fifties, at an average of 35.88 and a strike-rate of 141.66.
“I think Saud Shakeel has been one of our better batting performers throughout this whole competition and he’s come in after a couple of years of waiting to play and he’s really put up his hand phenomenally, like really good,” Rossouw told Cricket Pakistan.
“He’s batted really well and [it’s] so good to see from Quetta Gladiators fan point of view that he’s doing well and that too [at the] top of the order, it’s not always easy and he’s really just like flourished in that department.”
While Shakeel thrived in this year’s PSL, the same could not be said for Rossouw as he had an underwhelming campaign after being limited to 148 runs in 10 games at an average of 16.44 and a strike-rate of 107.24.
The Gladiators managed to qualify for the playoffs, but were eliminated after losing to eventual champions Islamabad United in Eliminator 1.
Shakeel did not feature in Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which ended as a 2-2 draw.
He also hasn’t been picked for the team’s upcoming three-match T20I series against Ireland from May 10 to 14 and four-match T20I series against England from May 22 to May 30.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan