3 reasons why Shadab Khan should bat at No. 4 in T20Is
After a 3-4 defeat to England in the T20I series, Pakistan have gotten off to a flying start in the tri-series in New Zealand. The Men in Green defeated Bangladesh on Friday by 21 runs and also got the better of the hosts in the second match of the series.
In the six-wicket win against the Kiwis, one of the major talking points of the game was Shadab Khan's promotion up the order. The middle-order has been a huge worry for Pakistan since the Asia Cup 2022.
Shadab was sent in at no.4 after Shan Masood got out on a golden duck. His showing was a sigh of relief for the team management as the 24-year-old scored 34 off 22 balls.
Here are 3 reasons why Shadab should regularly bat at the number four position for Pakistan.
#1 Shows better intent than most batters
There has been a lot of debate over Pakistan's batting performance in the middle overs (7-15) in T20Is. Fans and critics have complained alike about the middle-order's lack of intent and their substandard strike rate.
Shadab Khan could be the answer to these woes. He is an aggressive batter and looks to get going from the word go. In the T20s, Shadab has a strike rate of 156.03 batting at no.4.
#2 Space for an extra bowler in the starting XI
If Shadab can fill the no.4 batting spot, it will be a godsend for the Men in Green for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. This means that there will be an extra slot available for a bowler to feature in the starting XI.
Pakistan have one of the best bowling units going into the World Cup. They have several pacers who can clock 145+ kph. Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf are guaranteed starters, but the team management can now fit in an extra pacer. Mohammad Wasim and Mohammad Hasnain are apt for the position.
#3 Shadab Khan has performed well at number four for Islamabad United
The T20I against New Zealand was not the first time Shadab Khan batted at number four position. The Islamabad United skipper asked his PSL franchise to let him bat at that position, and he has done exceptionally well with the willow in the shortest format of the game.
No bro. For the record, we did promote him a few times in PSL 3 & 4 but the idea of a long-term strategy for him to play in the top 4 was his. So complete credit to him. He said give me 3-4 inns, we will change if it doesn’t work but it worked in PSL 5. In PSL 7 we saw his best twitter.com/waeedawan/stat…
The 24-year-old played a blistering knock of 91 off 42 balls earlier this year against the Multan Sultans. The innings went in vain as Islamabad fell short of the mammoth target of 218 by 20 runs, but it was sufficient to gauge Shadab Khan's batting capability at the number four spot.