'Captaincy In White-Ball Cricket...'- Shoaib Akhtar On Shadab Khan
Shadab is current vice-captain in white-ball formats (Twitter)
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has backed leg-spin all-rounder Shadab Khan to replace Babar Azam as the captain of the national white-ball teams. Babar has been at the helm of the Pakistan Cricket Team in all formats for a couple of years, and the star batsman has often come in for criticism for his teams’ underwhelming performances in ICC events and in Test matches, especially on home soil.
While there is no immediate threat to Babar’s captaincy, there have been suggestions in the Pakistani ecosystem around relieving some of his workload.
In that case, Shoaib believes that Shadab is the best possible alternative as, according to him, the wrist-spin all-rounder is an ever-improving cricketer, and someone who has a calm head on his shoulder.
Shoaib also reckoned that since Shadab speaks really well, it will help him become a brand, which is fitting of being a Pakistani captain.
"Shadab is a very smart kid when it comes to cricket skills. He wants to improve, which is a very good thing. He is ready to accept his mistakes and rectify them. In past two years, he has worked really hard on his bowling and his fitness has improved as well," Akhtar said as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Shadab is not a bad option for captaincy: Shoaib Khan
"He is also very vigilant when it comes to managing his career. He wants to look good and speaks well. In times to come, he is not a bad option for captaincy for Pakistan in white-ball cricket," he added.
When asked about which PSL team he is gonna support in the forthcoming seasons, Akhtar was quick to respond with the Shadab Khan-led Islamabad United.
"Shadab is a great captain and future of Pakistan cricket. I think Shadab is an aggressive captain with a balanced team, great batting line-up and a great attitude. Shadab and Azhar Mahmood’s as coach are looking great and they can win the PSL 8 trophy," he said.
Speaking of Shadab, the all-rounder will be extremely crucial to Pakistan’s fortunes in the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup 2023.
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