When Saqlain Mushtaq came on as head coach, it helped our spinners immensely: Shadab Khan

Pakistan’s star all-rounder, Shadab Khan, has credited legendary star off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq for his success in international cricket. Khan is currently the vice-captain of the Pakistan cricket team, and the 24-year-old stated that he and Mohammad Nawaz have gained a lot from Mushtaq. 

Shadab is currently with the Pakistani side as they are touring Sri Lanka, for two Test series. The first Test is scheduled to take place at the Galle International Stadium on July 16. Khan has performed for Men in Green since making his debut in 2017, and he has transformed himself into an all-rounder in all formats of the game. The leg spinner is also the first (men) Pakistan cricketer to take 100 wickets in T20Is. 

“I was out of form in 2021. I decided against going to CPL that year. I headed to the National High-Performance Centre to work with him for a week. Such was the mental impact of working with him that I started believing I am the number 1 bowler around,” said Shadab in a talk with Cricbuzz. 

“A week before that I was totally out of sorts and short on confidence. And then when he came on as a head coach it helped our spinners immensely. Me and Nawaz have gained a lot from him tactically and technically,” he further added. 

Interestingly, the star leg spinner got married to Mushtaq's daughter this year. The star all-rounder recently sustained a neck injury in the UK’s T20 Vitality. He was representing Sussex County Cricket Club when he sustained the injury after he collided with another player from his side.

Shadab Khan will be looking to perform well in SL vs Pak Test series- 

The first Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will begin on July 16 at Galle, and the second game will be played at Colombo (SSC) on July 24. The two Test matches will be part of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The Pakistani side will be looking to win the Test series, as they last won a Test series in 2021 against Bangladesh and Shadab Khan will be hopeful of making his performance count in the given series.