Pakistan all-rounder Khushdil Shah: “After being dropped, I decided to seriously work on my weaknesses and trained myself to play longer innings, because often top order collapses mean you have to bat earlier”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan power-hitting all-rounder Khushdil Shah has revealed that he seriously worked on his weaknesses when he was out of the national team.
He noted that he used to barely have any time to bat, which resulted in him having to unleash big shots from ball one.
However, during his time away from the Pakistan team, he worked on playing longer innings as he knew top order collapses can happen.
The hard work the 30-year-old has put in behind the scenes has paid off as he amassed 253 runs in 11 matches for the Karachi Kings in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which included a top score of 60, at an average of 36.14 and a strike-rate of 156.17.
He also took seven wickets at an average of 34.85 and an economy rate of 9.03.
“When I was dropped from the national team, I knew I had to fix what was holding me back. Previously, I used to bat only in the last two or three overs, where the situation demands immediate hitting. That affected my rhythm and mindset,” Khushdil was quoted as saying by A Sports.
“So after being dropped, I decided to seriously work on my weaknesses and trained myself to play longer innings, because often top order collapses mean you have to bat earlier.
“I realised that I needed to prepare myself for all kinds of situations and improve every aspect of my batting.”
After PSL 10, Khushdil was involved in Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh and scored five runs at an average of five and a strike-rate of 50.
Bowling-wise, he picked up two wickets at an average of 15.50 and an economy rate of 7.75.
The Bannu native then toured Bangladesh with the men in green and struck 30 runs in two games at an average of 15 and a strike-rate of 73.17.
As for his bowling, he went wicketless.
Pakistan are now touring the West Indies for three T20Is and three ODIs.
In the T20I series, which the men in green won 2-1, Khushdil only played one match and scored an unbeaten 11.
The ODI series will begin on August 9 in Trinidad.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan Squad for West Indies ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
[TS_Poll id=”48″]