Salman Butt: “Most of his runs have come from the leg side. Whenever I’ve watched him, he always focuses on playing towards the leg side. And because of this, he often finds himself trapped”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt said all-rounder Khushdil Shah “often finds himself trapped” when batting because he heavily favours the leg side.
He noted that by constantly targeting the leg side, the 30-year-old restricts himself when it comes to the number of shots he can play.
Even though Salman pointed out this flaw, it didn’t stop Khushdil from dominating in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) as he scored 298 runs in 10 matches for the Rangpur Riders, which included two fifties, at an average of 59.60 and a strike-rate of 175.29.
Bowling-wise, the Bannu native was the joint third-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets at an average of 9.94 and an economy rate of 6.03.
After the BPL, Khushdil made his international comeback as he is representing Pakistan in the ongoing ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa.
In the opening match against New Zealand, which Pakistan lost by 78 runs, he made 15 runs and conceded 66 runs off the nine overs he bowled.
“Most of his runs have come from the leg side. Whenever I’ve watched him, he always focuses on playing towards the leg side. And because of this, he often finds himself trapped,” Salman was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Once the ODI tri-series concludes, Khushdil will be involved in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will be played from February 19 to March 9.
Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah