All-rounder Shadab Khan became the fourth Pakistan cricketer to play 100 T20I matches after featuring in the fourth T20I against England at The Oval, London. The 25-year-old Shadab Khan joins the elite list of Pakistan players which includes Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez and current captain Babar Azam. Malik has featured in 123 games while Babar and Hafeez have played 119 games respectively.
Before this game, Shadab has taken 107 wickets the most by a Pakistani bowler. In 48 innings, he has scored 625 runs. Meanwhile, England are bowling first in the final T20I.With two games washed out due to rain, only one match has been played where England secured a 23-run victory in the second T20I. This match represents a final opportunity for both teams to address their shortcomings and finalize their combinations ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Shadab Khan’s poor show in series vs England
Shadab Khan was among the batters in the Pakistan middle-order who flopped badly during the team’s one-sided loss at the hands of Jos Buttler’s England. At one point in time, the visitors were looking likely to score more than 180 runs but due to the middle-order’s poor performance, the total could not even go up to 160.
The top-order of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had given Pakistan a very good start early on but the following batters failed to ride on the momentum. The Pakistani bowlers eventually didn’t have enough runs on the board to defend. The Men in Green lost the 4-match series by 2-0 and their preparation for the T20 World Cup 2024 has closed off in the worst possible way.
After seeing the entire match unfold at the Kia Oval stadium, Ramiz Raja had a harsh choice of words for Shadab Khan. Ramiz started off by highlighting the middle-order’s inability to score runs and claimed that it was the turning point of the game. The former PCB chairman wanted the batters to show more character.
Ramiz Raja blasts Shadab Khan for flop show as Pakistan lose T20I series to England ahead of T20 World Cup
Ramiz Raja has slammed Shadab Khan for his poor display with the bat and ball as Pakistan lost the T20I series against England on Thursday, May 30. The former cricketer looked disappointed to see Shadab wasting opportunities at No. 5 and criticized management for sending him above No. 7. Raja reckons that a proper batter like Saim Ayub should be slotted to strengthen the middle order. The reaction came as Pakistan suffered a middle-order collapse and got bundled out for 157 in 19.5 overs in the fourth and final T20I against England
Ramiz Raja said on his YouTube channel:
“The middle order was a flop show that led to the lack of runs and we lost the plot. Imad Wasim should be picked in all games. If you have to bench Shadab, do it. You can play Saim Ayub in the middle order because Shadab is not fit at No.5. If a proper batter comes in, it will bring some stability in the middle order.”
He continued:
“Shadab Khan in middle order? What is his role, I don’t get it. At No.5, he is out of touch and out of form. His ideal batting position should be No.7. He tries to play like a slogger.”
Shadab Khan returned with scores of three and a duck in his two outings against England. The leg-spinner also returned wicketless in both games. Since 2023, he has scored 159 runs and bagged nine wickets in 16 T20I outings for Pakistan.
Ramiz Raja then stated that Imad Wasim, who sustained a rib injury during training, should play each and every game to balance out the side. He claimed that if the team management wants to drop Shadab Khan, then they should not even think twice before doing it as his role in the batting order is not defined.
“You saw how extreme pace troubled him” – Ramiz Raja on Azam Khan’s failures for Pakistan
Ramiz Raja further slammed Azam Khan’s failures in both outings against England. The 61-year-old pointed out how Azam struggled against England pacers, especially against the short balls. He said:
“Azam Khan’s batting against pace is weak. His strike rate against spin is good, but against pace, he doesn’t play well against short balls. You saw how extreme pace troubled him. He needs to work a lot on his batting against pace.”
Azam returned with scores of 11 and a duck against England.
Raja also pointed out Iftikhar Ahmed and Fakhar Zaman’s lack of consistency. That came as Iftikhar managed 23 and 21, while Zaman returned with scores of 45 and nine, respectively.
“Iftikhar Ahmed scores 20s and gets out. He is used as a finisher but doesn’t do that, neither in the first or the second innings. Similarly, Fakhar [Zaman] is a hit-and-miss.”
Pakistan will begin their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign against the USA on June 6.