Mike Hesson: “To have Shadab Khan not playing for Pakistan at the moment is a disgrace”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Islamabad United head coach Mike Hesson believes “it is a disgrace” that spin-bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan is not playing for the national team right now.
Shadab used to be Pakistan’s limited overs vice-captain and the first-choice spinner in limited overs cricket for years.
However, a string of poor performances, where he failed to take wickets regularly, led to him losing his place in the team.
Despite this, Hesson feels the 26-year-old from Mianwali is too good of a player to keep sidelined as he is capable of having a major impact with both the bat and ball.
“To have Shadab Khan not playing for Pakistan at the moment is a disgrace,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Recently, Shadab played for the Panthers in the Champions T20 Cup and went wicketless in six games as he only bowled three overs.
He also scored 24 runs at an average of six.
Currently, he is in action for Ghani Glass in the President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament and has claimed two wickets in three matches at an average of 113.50.
Batting-wise, he has accumulated 149 runs, which includes a top score of 55, at an average of 29.80.
Shadab was not picked for Pakistan’s ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa.
He also didn’t make the cut for 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
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