[EXCLUSIVE] Saud Shakeel reflects on the challenging Australia tour and discusses plans for PSL 9 in an interview with PakPassion

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Pakistan's middle-order batter and Test match specialist, Saud Shakeel talks to Saj Sadiq in an exclusive interview with PakPassion. He talks about a plethora of topics, including:

1. His challenging tour of Australia
2. What did he learn from Usman Khawaja?
3. Do Pakistan's batters play too negatively?
4. The frustrations of Pakistan not playing enough Test cricket
5. Do Pakistani players not enjoy fielding?
6. Reflections on Pakistan's poor World Cup 2023 campaign
7. How he plans to develop his white-ball game
8. Does he plan to develop his spin bowling?
9. PSL 9 plans for Quetta Gladiators, will he finally get a chance to play this season?
10. Is he still friends with Sarfaraz Ahmed? And much more!

 
Well Good to hear that his purported brawl with Sarfaraz was nothing else then a media hype. Now let's see what he can deliver in PSL after some underwhelming performance in Australia.
 
I love how he said the video with Sarfaraz was doctored. Does anyone believe this?
 
Well honestly i don't feel that the video of Sarfaraz and Saud came out on social media was fake.

What do you guys say?


It didn't seem fake at all. Even Saud's facial expression didn't seem too convincing, hahaha.
It's better to just admit they had a small tiff, that it was a heated moment, and are now buddies again. Saying that it was doctored makes it seem more fishy.
 
I want him to work on his batting and that's why I brought up Usman Khawaja in the interview, as he is the sort of batter he should look to emulate in conditions such as those in Australia and South Africa.

If he doesn't make key changes, then he will always struggle outside Asia.
 
Well it's amazing how he looks a significantly different player when playing in sub continent conditions. His PSL innings yesterday against LQ was testament of it.
 
A rare failure for Saud Shakeel in PSL 9, he departs after making just 2 runs off 6 deliveries. Naseem Shah, the one who dismissed him.
 
A news circulated on social media that Hafeez asked Saud to change his stance during Australia series but Saud is telling completly different story that it was him who went to Mohammad Hafeez to discuss about his stance

Saud's response to it, "Honestly I was not aware of it before, I get the news of it from media. I once myself went to Hafeez Bhai to ask him that sometimes my stance do get big so what do you think l should do about it. And the news that got out from this(episode) was that Hafeez Bhai directed me to shorten my stance although it wasn't so. To the contrary I went to Hafeez Bhai to inquire him about it and he advised me to ignore these(unknown) tours and he was also of the view that my stance was getting bigger so there was a need to shorten it"
 
A news circulated on social media that Hafeez asked Saud to change his stance during Australia series but Saud is telling completly different story that it was him who went to Mohammad Hafeez to discuss about his stance

Saud's response to it, "Honestly I was not aware of it before, I get the news of it from media. I once myself went to Hafeez Bhai to ask him that sometimes my stance do get big so what do you think l should do about it. And the news that got out from this(episode) was that Hafeez Bhai directed me to shorten my stance although it wasn't so. To the contrary I went to Hafeez Bhai to inquire him about it and he advised me to ignore these(unknown) tours and he was also of the view that my stance was getting bigger so there was a need to shorten it"

Saud has had a few issues - such as that conversation with Sarfaraz!
 
Saud Shakeel departs for QG after throwing his wicket cheaply against PZ. His final score was 24(12).
 
"Ye 5'6 inch...chotay chotay baazu, choti choti taangain"

Talk about feeding someone humble pie. Aqib Javed should have some shame and apologize for the disgraceful remarks he made about Saud Shakeel. Especially now after the innings Saud played against his team.
 
Saud Shakeel's response to Aaqib Javed's jibe on him and its impact on his performance against LQ:

"Well we try not to take things personally and everybody is entitled to his opinion. May be he would have made that opinion by watching my performance in the World Cup (2023) where I batted in the middle order. But I am happy that I opened for Quetta Gladiators this time around and already had two man of the match awards and also my team has qualified for the playoffs"

Aaqib Javed's sarcastic past comments against Saud Shakeel:

“five foot six inches, with those little arms and legs."
 
Presenting you the new vice-captain of the Pakistan test team, Saud Shakeel. He took over the place of Shaheen due to his workload management.

I think it is a good move. Saud should be groomed as the future captain.
 
I hope he comes through, both tactically and also performance wise. His test career so far has been good albeit a failure against Australia but he’s 28 and right in his prime. Plus who doesn’t like a scrappy Karachi batsman?
 

Saud Shakeel's blunt remark today on Shaheen Shah Afridi's workload In PAK vs BAN has surprised many:​


“Shaheen can tell you better about this. It is none of my concern.

“Shaheen is our main bowler, so the team management will make a decision that is best for him.”
 
Saud Shakeel today shared following thoughts after Pakistan Shaheens' draw against Bangladesh 'A' :

Saud Shakeel's philosophy as a captain:

I know very well about my captaincy. I believe I perform really best under my captaincy. I have always been told to carry the team as a unit and make them fight (for victory). So I enjoy this thing both off and on the field.

Solutions for middle order problems?

I also play in the middle order and try to give my best. After I had played my initial 2-3 Tests, my coach told me that all your performances should be such that translate into victories for the team. This thing changed my mindset completely and then I altered my game accordingly. So from then onwards, I have always tried to perform in such a manner for team that results in victory for the side.

How good are these Shaheen (Test) matches for players' confidence?

I always consider Shaheen (matches) as a wonderful platform for our youngsters. It comes somewhere in between Domestic and International cricket. Therefore these Shaheen (matches) help to bridge the gap between the above two levels. I, myself, have been through this phase as I have toured England in the past as part of Pakistan 'A' side and it helped me a lot to understand the conditions in England. Honestly, I have always benefitted a lot from Shaheen tour matches. Even now, I hadn't played any red ball cricket in the last 6 months so I always had this feeling in my mind that I was lacking something. I made 76 runs here the other day and despite being an international cricketer it helped me a lot to regain my confidence before the upcoming Test series so you could imagine how great this experience would be for our domestic performers.

Thoughts on fitness level:

Overall as a group, our team fitness level have dipped a bit and we all talked about it too during our tour to Australia. And I think there is nothing bad in acknowledging that. So those amongst us whose fitness level had dropped acknowledged that and vowed to improve our fitness standard. Even I worked on my fitness recently and was part of a Karachi training camp too. The recent fitness test results of our players have been good and satisfactory and that was evident too. If you have noticed how we have played these (Shaheen) matches. Even our fast bowlers (fitness) look great the way they have bowled short and long spells in the bowling. Also another great thing about this Shaheen Test match was the much needed practice required before the upcoming series.
 
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