Misbah-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan head coach, praises Shadab Khan’s back foot play against fast bowlers and believes the all-rounder can score even more runs with his attacking shots.

Shadab had shone in the match against Multan Sultans, where he nearly single-handedly won the game by scoring 91 runs off 42 balls while chasing 218.

“No doubt about his abilities as a batter, I remember there was an Independence Cup in Faisalabad. When he came in as an emerging player in Islamabad United and I was the captain. He was more of a batsman who could bowl, was an excellent fielder too,” said Misbah.

“He came in from Under 19 and I think his first match, he won the game against KPK. He scored 40 odd runs at a very crucial stage and from that point, I could see that his batting ability is superb. And fielding, so he was a complete package.

“So the moment I became the coach, in Australia I alongside Shahid Aslam sat down with him and worked a lot on his batting. And when I was the coach at Islamabad, I told him that you’ll play at No 3. And it was the first season when he scored 200-250 runs.”

Shadab, according to Misbah, needs to improve his defensive game in the lengthier format, but with the attacking strokes he possesses in the white ball format, he might score even more runs.

“If you look at his technique, he is excellent against fast bowling especially off the back foot. If you see him in the match against Multan, he was playing shots over point, third man region. Played the pull really nicely.

“In red ball cricket, he needs to work on his defence. But in shorter format with the kind of attacking shots he has, I think he can score more runs.”

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