T20 World Cup 2022: Will Pakistan see more of Shadab Khan in the top order of the World Cup?
The Pakistan team has performed brilliantly well in both matches of the ongoing tri-series in New Zealand. After defeating Bangladesh in their first fixture, they beat New Zealand by six wickets.
Shadab Khan at No.4 can unlock Pakistan’s T20I potentialPakistan's experiment with the middle order continues
Babar Azam made a tactical move in the match against Pakistan to bring their all-rounder Shadab Khan at number four. The decision caught everyone's attention as the all-rounder played a pivotal role in helping his side clinch an impressive win over the Kiwis.
It was the first time Shadab Khan batted at number four in a T20I for Pakistan. Criticising the move, former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez furiously wrote," Promotion of Shadab Khan at No. 4 and Mohammad Nawaz at No. 5 may give short term success, but middle order will create more pressure and doubts in the minds of batsmen. Why are they there??? If he doesn't have faith then why is he with the team? The middle order will remain a problem…."
Pakistan's positive intent brings more options for the World Cup
Shadab Khan played an impressive cameo to smash two fours and two sixes in a match-winning 61-run stand with skipper Babar Azam. Shadab Khan scored 34 off 22 balls, helping them register a win.
Post winning the match, Shadab Khan tweeted, "Hope you enjoyed the intent today. We are working hard on correcting our mistakes and planning ahead for the world cup. Keep supporting Pakistan."
The move has given 2009 T20I World Cup champions plenty of options, looking into which Pakistan can make some worth-considering changes at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Babar Azam, who remained unbeaten at 79 against New Zealand, talked about his move of promoting Shadab Khan up the order. He said that the decision was taken to put opposition bowlers under pressure.
"Me and Shadab decided that I was going all the way and he would take the chances," Babar Azam said. "When we settled down and assessed the wicket, I decided I was going to play to the end and managed to do that."
On plans with Shadab Khan as a top-order batter, the skipper said, "Definitely, we have a plan to send Shadab up to charge the bowlers, to utilise his skills."
Will the move turn out to be a masterstroke?
Shadab Khan's record shows an average of 18.50 and a strike rate of 139.09 in T20Is. These numbers don't define his calibre, and neither would anyone think of him as a number four batter looking at them. But the primary reason for his low average is that he has batted at number eight or below 17, which doesn't keep him with the scope to score plenty of runs.
Now his promotion could be a wildcard for Pakistan in the World Cup, as he is a potential aggressive right-handed batter who can thrive at any batting spot. Earlier in the year, he batted at four for Islamabad United against Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League and scored 91 off 42, giving an example of his strength.
Pakistan has two more matches remaining in the tri-series, and they might consider giving more chances to Shadab Khan at the top of the order.