Ahmed Shehzad: “The biggest concern seems to be Pakistan’s opening. If Saud Shakeel was to be included in the team, then why wasn’t he given a chance in One Day cricket? Previously, Pakistan had plenty of openers, but now no specialist opener is visible”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has questioned why middle order batsman Saud Shakeel was previously ignored for ODIs if he was included in the 2025 Champions Trophy team.

Shakeel hadn’t played ODI cricket since the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup before making his comeback in the recently-concluded tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa.

In the two games he played, the 29-year-old scored 23 runs at an average of 11.50.

“The biggest concern seems to be Pakistan’s opening. If Saud Shakeel was to be included in the team, then why wasn’t he given a chance in One Day cricket? Previously, Pakistan had plenty of openers, but now no specialist opener is visible,” Shehzad was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Pakistan lost to New Zealand in the ODI tri-series final and will now 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

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