"He wants to look good and speaks well" - Shoaib Akhtar tips Shadab Khan for white-ball captaincy
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has tipped Shadab Khan to replace Babar Azam as the captain of white-ball cricket. Akhtar reflected that the all-rounder has a cricketing brain and has worked on his fitness in the last few years.
Shadab's captaincy credentials have increased since his Pakistan Super League (PSL), having led Islamabad United admirably. The 24-year-old became the youngest PSL skipper ahead of the fifth edition and is amongst the most successful in history with 20 wins in 36 games.
Wanted to test ourselves batting 1st. Bowlers did a great job defending. @AasifAli45 showed his class again, @iFaheemAshraf finished well with the bat, Abrar was special with the ball, entire team contributed but the night belongs to @MAzamKhan45. Special talent. #UnitedWeWin https://t.co/TAs5g8h09V
Speaking on a local TV channel, the Rawalpindi Express observed that Shadab strives for continuous improvement and speaks well, making him a good candidate for the captaincy.
"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. 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."
While Babar captained Pakistan to the T20 World Cup 2022 final in Australia, he faced scrutiny following home series losses to England and New Zealand. However, the 28-year-old will likely captain during the 2023 World Cup in India later this year.
"Shadab is a great captain and future of Pakistan cricket" - Shoaib Akhtar
Labeling the youngster an aggressive captain, the 47-year-old backed him to lift the PSL trophy this year.
"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 Mahmoodβs as coach are looking great and they can win the PSL 8 trophy."
Thank you to my @IsbUnited family for so much love. #UnitedWeWin twitter.com/IsbUnited/statβ¦
The two-time champions are second in the standings, winning three out of their four games.