Former England captain Michael Vaughan has observed captaincy traits in young Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan. Vaughan feels Shadab is a wonderful cricketer and he has the skills to be potentially the next captain of the team. Meanwhile, recently Pakistan Cricket Board had removed former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed from the captaincy role.
Subsequently, the PCB decided to give the limited-overs captaincy to Babar Azam whereas Azhar Ali took over the Test captaincy. On the other hand, Shadab Khan has impressed with his skills and he is a livewire on the field.
The 21-year old also has the experience of leading Islamabad United in the fifth season of the Pakistan Super League. Shadab Khan has led Islamabad United in 12 matches in which the team has won five whereas they have lost seven matches and thus he has a win percentage of 41.66.
Shadab Khan has shown the right skills
The leg-spinner was dropped from the second Test match final XI against England at Ageas Bowl, Southampton to make way for Fawad Alam who received his chance after a gap of 11 years. Shadab Khan had bowled only 11.3 overs in the first Test and had scalped two wickets. The right-hander had also played a crucial knock of 45 runs in the first essay to post an imperative alliance with opener Shan Masood.
Meanwhile, Michael Vaughan is not impressed by the change Pakistan made to their playing XI in the second Test. Wasim Akram, former Pakistan captain, had suggested that Fawad Alam should be included in the place of Shadab Khan.
“For me, Shadab Khan is a wonderful cricketer. I think Shadab Khan can potentially be the next captain of Pakistan,” he told Cricbuzz. “When you have got a batsman like Shadab Khan, who has actually scored decent runs in England. He can bowl leg-spinners, he is a brilliant fielder, great in the team bubble, and a cricket thinker.
“With Shadab Khan, I can pretty much guarantee that he will potentially get more runs than Fawad (Alam), bowl leg-spin, take a catch or two, create a run-out, and be a great team player. I’m a bit confused about that selection.”
Fawad Alam replaced Shadab Khan
Shadab Khan has played six Test matches in which he has scored 300 runs at an average of 33.33. Furthermore, the leg-spinner has taken 14 wickets in his young Test match career. There is no doubt that Khan will learn more with experience.
Pakistan is on the back foot in the second Test as they are tottering at 126-5 after England bowlers dominated the opening day.