Basit Ali: “Rizwan was the one who brought Khushdil Shah into the team. His thinking was that since they wouldn’t pick an opener, Kamran Ghulam and Khushdil would fit in. I know Rizwan very well. They invested in Irfan Niazi, but instead of him, Khushdil was selected”
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Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali believes limited overs captain Mohammad Rizwan was responsible for picking all-rounder Khushdil Shah over batsman Irfan Khan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Basit noted that the men in green had invested in Irfan, but Rizwan decided not to give the 22-year-old a chance to shine in a major international tournament.
Instead, Basit feels the 32-year-old opted to bring back Khushdil even though he had not played international cricket for a long time.
“Rizwan was the one who brought Khushdil Shah into the team. His thinking was that since they wouldn’t pick an opener, Kamran Ghulam and Khushdil would fit in. I know Rizwan very well. They invested in Irfan Niazi, but instead of him, Khushdil was selected,” he was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Khushdil returned for the recently-concluded ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he made 22 runs in three games at an average of 11.
He also picked up one wicket at an average of 127.
Prior to this, he was involved in the Champions T20 Cup and scored 132 runs in eight matches for the Lions, which included a top score of 57 not out, at an average of 26.40 and a strike-rate of 151.72.
He also took nine wickets at an average of 17.22 and an economy rate of 6.45.
The 30-year-old then took part in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and made 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.
The Bannu native did well with the ball, finishing as the joint third-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets at an average of 9.94 and an economy rate of 6.03.
Khushdil is now set to feature in the Champions Trophy, which will be held 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