HYDERABAD: Before Pakistan's World Cup opener against Netherlands here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday, Saud Shakeel had played six ODIs for the team scoring only 76 from five innings of six matches.
Given his not so impressive show since his ODI debut more than two years ago, he apparently was not even in the scheme of things as far as Pakistan's ODI outfit was concerned. Last playing a 50-over match in March 2022, the left-hand batter was called into the side for the Afghanistan series held in August. He got a solitary game wherein he scored nine runs.
Though late, he was also drafted into the 17-member squad for the Asia Cup. He might not have got a game in the continental tournament but the confidence the selectors had shown in him meant he was in the India-bound flight for the World Cup.
Earlier, the 28-year-old Karachi middle-order batter has proved his mettle in the red-ball cricket as he averages 87.50 in six matches wherein, he has scored two hundreds and six half-centuries. Despite the whopping runs he has accumulated at an unbelievable batting average in the longest format of the game, he was not deemed fit for the white ball cricket by his detractors.
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All that might have changed on Friday when he played a quickfire knock of 68 off just 52 balls to not only bail out his team from a precarious position of 38/3 but also left behind Mohammad Rizwan, who also scored 68, as he turned out to be the quickest of the two.
Saud admitted he had to develop his game to fit in at No 5 or 6 position in the playing XI which also involved a change in the mindset. "I think I performed very well in the Test matches, so my confidence level was very high. But at the same time, I was focusing a lot on my white-ball cricket. I was focusing a lot on my game. I could see that my numbers for playing for Pakistan were 5-6 (batting order). Babar Azam plays at 3 and Rizwan plays at 4. I tried to develop my game and worked hard for it," he told journalists after his match-winning knock against the Dutch.
Elaborating further, he added, "A person has a vision and works hard for it. I tried the same. I could see that I am not playing much One-Day cricket, not much white-ball domestic cricket in Pakistan in which I can prove my point. But at the same time, when I played Test match cricket for Sri Lanka, I showed that I am ready for white-ball cricket."
Speaking on the changes he made to get into the ODI mode, Saud said, "I think it was more of a mindset change. Few years back I never used to hit big like this, I didn't take many chances. I preferred to play on the ground. But I made up my mind that I have to accept one thing, that where are your numbers to play against Pakistan. It is very important to realize this as a player. So, I made my game plan accordingly. I haven't changed much. I tried to adapt, and I think the best thing is that we came to India to play the World Cup. It's really good here. If you settle here, you get the value of your shots. So, I think that's in my mind. And I try to stay in good shape and keep my technique so that I don't make shots that are too hard and I'm succeeding in that."
Saud has never played in India like most of his teammates. But he has watched a few IPL matches which helped him assess conditions here in the country. “We have come to India for the first time, so we don’t have much of an idea of playing in India. But we have seen a little bit of the IPL and some matches in Hyderabad so that helped.”
He, however, admitted that he was nervous at the start but settled down once he got a few boundaries. "Of course, there were nerves. But I was lucky that I found a few odd boundaries. Sometimes it happens that you find such boundaries, it makes it easier for you. I was clear in my mind that I wanted to attack and play positive cricket. Rizwan Bhai's role was to go long but my plan was simple. I had focused on a few bowlers from the Netherlands. If I had to hit from above, I would take a chance. I did that. I took a chance. I was trying to stay positive and kept attacking the bowlers I had targeted."
