IND vs PAK: Babar Azam Apologises For Mistakenly Mentioning Saud Shakeel's ODI Debut During Toss
Published - 27 Aug 2023, 02:57 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 09:42 AM
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam mistakenly stated that Saud Shakeel was making his ODI debut during the third and final match against Afghanistan in Colombo. However, Babar Azam later admitted that he had forgotten that Saud Shakeel had played a few matches for Pakistan in the 50-over format.
Saud Shakeel made his ODI debut against the England national cricket team in 2021. Notably, Shakeel was presented with the Pakistan cap by Babar before his first match in the 50-over format.
The left-handed batter represented the national team in five ODIs before the match against Afghanistan.
I Forgot – Babar Azam
In the post-match presentation ceremony, Babar Azam admitted that he had mistakenly said that Saud Shakeel was making his debut.
“I forgot (that Saud Shakeel has played ODIs already). I went into the dressing room and asked him is this your debut? He said no. Sorry for saying that it was his debut at the toss,” Babar told Ramiz Raja.
— Hassan (@ahmoostan) August 26, 2023
Saud Shakeel Is Playing Spin Very Well – Babar Azam
Skipper Babar Azam confirmed that Saud Shakeel, who was on the reserve list, was added to Pakistan’s 17-member squad. Azam revealed that Saud was included in the squad, considering his batting against spin bowlers.
“He is in the Asia Cup squad now, he is playing spin very well and that’s why he is in,” Azam added.
Saud Shakeel Included In Pakistan’s Squad For Asia Cup
Earlier, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said that they picked Faheem Ashraf over Saud due to his all-round abilities. However, he was named in the squad for the ODI series against Afghanistan. He scored just nine runs off six balls in Pakistan’s 59-run victory in the third ODI on Saturday, August 30.
Shakeel replaced Tayyab Tahir in the squad for the continental tournament, which is scheduled to commence on August 30 in Multan. Tahir was moved to the reserve list for the tournament. The left-handed batter will travel with the national team to Multan ahead of their first game in the Asia Cup.
Pakistan Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Usama Mir
Traveling reserve: Tayyab Tahir
Also read: IND vs PAK: Skipper Babar Azam Lauds Pakistan Players After Reaching Number One Rank In ODIs
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