Ahmed Shehzad: “Players like Saud and Rizwan showed great grit”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has singled out batsmen Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan for the grit they have shown.
Rizwan and Shakeel have been among Pakistan’s most reliable performers in Test cricket, consistently scoring runs and stepping up whenever the team finds itself in difficult situations.
However, while Shehzad praised the duo, he admitted that Pakistan’s “batting line-up lacks consistency” and criticised the team’s continued struggles against spin bowling.
“Players like Saud and Rizwan showed great grit, but overall, our batting line-up lacks consistency. The gaps in technique, especially against spin, are alarming. Even Babar Azam’s dismissal highlighted these issues,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
During Pakistan’s last Test assignment, which was a two-match series against South Africa, Rizwan made 126 runs, which included a top score of 75, at an average of 31.50.
As for Shakeel, he finished with 115 runs, which included a top score of 66, at an average of 28.75.
Rizwan has recently been in action for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League (BBL), where he has amassed 187 runs in 10 matches at an average of 18.70 and a strike-rate of 102.74.
Shakeel, meanwhile, has been active in domestic cricket. Representing Karachi Region Blues in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA Trophy), he accumulated 329 runs in six games, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 32.90.
He then featured for State Bank of Pakistan in the President’s Cup Grade-I (One-Day) tournament, adding 121 runs in four matches with a top score of 55 at an average of 30.25.
The Pakistan team recently toured Sri Lanka for three T20Is, with the series ending as a 1-1 draw after one game was washed out.
Their next assignment will be a three-match T20I series against Australia in Lahore, which will be held from January 29 to February 1.