Credit: Twitter
Saud Shakeel is a Pakistani cricketer who has recently made headlines for his impressive performance in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. The left-handed batsman scored his maiden Test century in the first innings, helping Pakistan take a first-innings lead. The 27-year-old Karachi born made his international Test debut for Pakistan in December last year. In ODI he made his debut in the 2021 England series but was dropped from the squad after the series.
In the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka, he was the only batsman to make a mark as he led the team to 461 with an unbeaten double hundred. Bar from Agha Salman, no Pakistan batsman crossed the forty-run mark. Saud Shakeel joined an elite group of Test cricketers by scoring fifty in each of his first six matches. The left-hander is only the fifth player in history to achieve this feat, joining Sunil Gavaskar, Basil Butcher, Saeed Ahmad, and Bert Sutcliffe.
Shakeel has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit, where the left-hander has scored over 4800 runs in 65 first-class matches, with 16 centuries and 23 fifties. Shakeel has an average of over 52 and a strike rate of over 50 in the longer format. He has also scored over 2400 runs in 75 List-A matches, with four centuries and 20 fifties.
Since debuting in December last year, Shakeel has established himself as a vital cog in Pakistan's Test setup. Although he has played some delightful knocks at home, an overseas century, which came under immense pressure, speaks volumes for his incredible ability.
Here is all you need to know about the middle-order batsman:
Name: Saud Shakeel
Age: 27
Date of Birth: September 05, 1995
From: Karachi, Pakistan
Teams: Pakistan, Pakistan Under-19s, Quetta Gladiators, Sindh
International Debut:
Test: Pakistan vs England at Rawalpindi - December 01 - 05, 2022
ODI: England vs Pakistan at Cardiff - July 08, 2021
Stats:
Test: 6 matches, Runs: 780, Average:98.50
ODI: 5 matches, 67 runs, Average: 22.33
