By Naeem Niazi
LAHORE, Feb 20 (APP): The HBL Pakistan Super League has witnessed progression of Khushdil Shah from a power-hitting batter to a reliable all-rounder who is the second leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps in the HBL PSL 7.
Khushdil Shah also boasts of the third best economy as a bowler at 6.53 behind Shadab Khan (Islamabad
United) 6.04 and Rashid Khan (Lahore Qalandars) 6.25 in the league so far while he has achieved
the second best strike rate of 9.7 which is second to leading wicket-taker Shadab Khan (8.4) only.
The Multan Sultans all-rounder has also scored 119 runs from eight innings, including four unbeaten
knocks, with 9 6s so far and a match winning knock of 22 against Karachi Kings. He has also achieved
a strike rate of 216.36 and a batting average of 29.75.
As a fielder, he has taken 6 catches in the nine outings so far and is regarded as one of the best
fielders with safe hands. All these statistics make him sit among the league of leading all-rounders
of the world.
Khushdil Shah bowled occasional left-arm orthodox spin in the past but this HBL PSL has seen him
bowl regularly with command and guile.
Talking to APP on Khushdil’s emergence as an all-rounder, former leg-spin wizard and Multan Sultans
bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed said that Khushdil Shah’s hardwork and dedication have contributed
to his improvement in the bowling, adding that he had spent a lot of time in the nets to whet his skills
with the ball. He said Khushdil’s work ethics are remarkable.
“As a coach, I tried to make him understand importance of being more useful to the team so that one
can become indispensable for selection”, he said, adding look at Haris Sohail who became more
useful for the team once he improved his bowling skills. Haris Sohail used to bowl useful bowling
spells even if he failed with the bat, he said.
On the advantages of an all-rounder to the team, the former ace-leg spinner was of the view that
Shahid Khan Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez had always performed with the ball if they
failed to impress with the bat in few matches. He said a batting all-rounder brings more utility to the
captain and the team, adding that Khushdil has a bright future.
Mushtaq Ahmed said Captain Muhammad Rizwan must also be credited with the rise of Khushdil
Shah’s rise as an all-rounder, adding that the coaching staff can only give the strategy but it is
the captain who executes the plan on the field.
The Multan Sultans bowling coach said he was impressed with the pace of emerging player Ihsanullah
and the rookie pacer had won attention of all in his two appearances in the Karachi-leg of the HBL PSL 7.
