Shadab Khan has revealed the strategy behind his match-winning performance against the West Indies, saying that they were under pressure but that the plan was to keep the innings going until the second powerplay.
While speaking about the time he came to bat, Shadab said, “It was a pressure situation, and I and Khushdil Shah planned to take it easy till the second powerplay, and we would take our chances after the 38th over in two-over power play.”
After returning to the national team after a long absence, the all-rounder was sensational in the last match, scoring 86 runs in 78 balls and taking four wickets to help Pakistan win the third ODI.
While answering a question regarding Babar’s statement about him, Shadab said “I got a lot of motivation after Babar called me a ‘buddha’ [old man]. After getting injured, it’s difficult to field properly, so that’s why he called me a buddha.”
Shadab is considered a close friend of Babar Azam, and earlier this year, the captain came under fire for keeping the all-rounder in the white-ball squad against Australia despite fitness concerns.
The 23-year-old all-rounder went on to say that it is difficult to bowl after being injured, but he worked hard during training camp at the National High-Performance Center.
“I have been working hard at the National High-Performance Center to bowl more overs because it was initially difficult to bowl after getting injured. Hopefully, I will keep working hard and try to improve.”
Shadab also commented on the pitch conditions, saying that the surface was decent for the batters, but anything can happen in cricket as Pooran bowled for the first time and took four wickets.
“But, it’s cricket, you can get out on a good batting pitch. As you saw today, Nicholas Pooran took four wickets. I saw Pooran bowl for the first time and he claimed four wickets,” he concluded.
