Saud Shakeel: “Khawaja Nafay is an exceptional talent and I have high hopes from him. He [will be] a great asset for [the] Pakistan cricket team in [the] near future”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Test vice-captain Saud Shakeel believes batsman Khawaja Nafay will be a “great asset for [the] Pakistan cricket team in [the] near future”.
Nafay is one of the the bright, young prospects in the country has currently averages 20.42 in first-class cricket and 23.72 in T20s.
His List A average sits at three, but he has only featured in two games to date.
Most recently, the 23-year-old was in action in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and scored 52 runs in two games for the Quetta Gladiators at an average of 26 and a strike-rate of 173.33.
“Khawaja Nafay is an exceptional talent and I have high hopes from him. He [will be] a great asset for [the] Pakistan cricket team in [the] near future,” Shakeel was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Shakeel captained the Gladiators in PSL 10 and amassed 237 runs in 12 matches, which included a top score of 59, at an average of 26.33 and a strike-rate of 117.32.
Following the PSL, Pakistan played a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, which they won 3-0.
They then went to Bangladesh, but ended up losing the T20I series 2-1.
As for their tour of the West Indies, the men in green won the T20Is 2-1 but lost the ODIs 2-1.
Most recently, they took on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in a T20I tri-series in Sharjah, which they won.
Pakistan will now feature in the 2025 Asia Cup, which will be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
Pakistan squad for UAE T20I tri-series and 2025 Asia Cup: 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, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem
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