Nasser Hussain: “You want your best player of spin to stand up and Saud Shakeel has definitely done that”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has credited Pakistan middle order batsman Saud Shakeel for rising to the occasion when his team need it the most.
He also suggested that the Test vice-captain is the best player of spin in the side, given how easily he has found it to score runs on home soil as of late.
Surprisingly, though, Shakeel admitted that he hates batting against spinners.
In Pakistan’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, Shakeel accumulated 159 runs, which included a top score of 141, at an average of 39.75.
The 29-year-old then proceeded to score 280 runs in three Tests against England, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 56.
“You want your best player of spin to stand up and Saud Shakeel has definitely done that,” Hussain was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan recently took on Australia in a white-ball series, which consisted of three ODIs and three T20Is.
The men in green took the ODI leg 2-1, but were whitewashed 3-0 in the T20Is.
Pakistan are now taking on Zimbabwe and won the ODI series 2-1, while they lead the T20Is 1-0 going into the second game on December 3 in Bulawayo.
Since Shakeel wasn’t picked for the Australia or Zimbabwe tours, he has been representing the Karachi Region Whites in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he has made 168 runs in three matches, which includes a top score of 120, at an average of 28.
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan
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