Khurram Manzoor: “Saud Shakeel is the best batter in the one-day format; if you want to strengthen the middle order, then Saud Shakeel should be included in the national cricket team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Khurram Manzoor believes Saud Shakeel is the best one-day batsman in Pakistan and thus feels he should be included in the ODI team.
Shakeel has featured in 19 ODIs to date and scored 408 runs, which includes four fifties, at an average of 27.20.
In domestic cricket, the 30-year-old averages 40.25 with the bat in List A cricket with four centuries and 25 fifties.
Although Shakeel’s last ODI came in February 2025, Manzoor thinks the Karachi native should be recalled if Pakistan want to “strengthen the middle order”.
“Saud Shakeel is the best batter in the one-day format; if you want to strengthen the middle order, then Saud Shakeel should be included in the national cricket team,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X.
Shakeel did not feature in Pakistan’s two-Test series against the West Indies, which finished as a 1-1 draw.
He is part of the team for the three-Test series against England and made scores of 5 and 14 in the 1st Test in Leeds, which the men in green lost by an innings and 103 runs.
The 2nd Test will begin on August 27 at Lord’s.
Pakistan Squad for England Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah