Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan commented on his recent struggles with both bat and ball in international cricket but termed it “the beauty of cricket”.
Shadab, who is representing Colombo Strikers in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2024 has been in a phenomenal touch as the leg-spinner is the leading wicket-taker of the ongoing season with 16 scalps in seven matches.
He has taken three four-wicket hauls in the tournament, with the latest coming in the Strikers’ victory over Jaffna Kings.
However, the same was not the case for Shadab Khan in the international circuit as the 25-year-old all-rounder played 12 T20I matches this year, but bowled in only eight matches, taking a mere three wickets at an average of 73.66.
With the bat, he has scored 110 runs in nine outings at an average of 13.75. The only positive is his strike rate, which is slightly over 150.
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The all-rounder acknowledged that his recent performances for Pakistan were not up to the mark but reiterated that sometimes a player goes through a rough patch.
“I was struggling for three months. I hadn’t taken a wicket in the last seven international games. I came here, started bowling and am now always taking wickets. That is the beauty of cricket,” stated Shadab.
“You have to enjoy these types of scenarios as well… sometimes you perform, sometimes you don’t. But the process that you follow has to be consistent,” he added.
Shadab Khan then went on to recall his first outing in the LPL 2024, highlighting the pitch’s helpfulness for the spinners before emphasizing the need for variations to flourish in the shortest format.
“The pitch was helping us as it was a bit slow and gripping a bit… But T20 cricket is very hard nowadays, as 200 is easily changeable. As a spinner, you have to have your variations because on flat tracks, if you don’t have variations, you can go for runs,” Shadab stated.
“But if you have variation, you can take wickets as well as contain runs. So that is very important, and it is also important that you land it in a good area,” he added.
READ: Shadab Khan aims to carry LPL 2024 form into international cricket