Sports

Pakistan to 'forget' England whitewash and focus on New Zealand: Saud Shakeel

"It’s a new series, new day and new beginning and we are eager to do well,” middle-order batter says

By Faizan Lakhani

December 25, 2022

Pakistans Saud Shakeel plays a shot during the third day of the third cricket Test match between Pakistan and England at the National Stadium in Karachi on December 19, 2022. — AFP — Pakistan's Saud Shakeel plays a shot during the third day of the third cricket Test match between Pakistan and England at the National Stadium in Karachi on December 19, 2022. — AFP

KARACHI: Pakistan's middle-order batter Saud Shakeel said Sunday that Pakistan will try to "forget" the England whitewash and focus on the upcoming Test series against New Zealand.

The middle-order batsman, during an interview with Geo News ahead of the first Test against New Zealand, said he will try to do better against the Kiwis and learn from his mistakes.

“We will try to forget what happened with us in the series against England and shift our focus on the series against New Zealand. It’s a new series, new day and new beginning and we are eager to do well,” he said.

“We sat after the defeat against England and discussed the areas where we lacked; we will try to overcome those mistakes and do better against New Zealand,” he said.

Pakistans middle-order batter Saud Shakeel speaks to Geo News in Karachi on December 25, 2022. — Reporter — Pakistan's middle-order batter Saud Shakeel speaks to Geo News in Karachi on December 25, 2022. — Reporter

When asked about which areas he felt the team lacked in, he spoke about his performance and said that he regrets missing opportunities to score big despite scoring four fifties in his maiden Test series.

“I regret missing those opportunities, I should’ve converted at least two fifties into centuries and if I had done that, I believe results would’ve been different for Pakistan," he said.

As a player, Shakeel said, his goal is to make Pakistan win Test matches. "I would’ve been more satisfied if my performance had helped Pakistan win those test matches,” he said.

“Losing wickets is always frustrating but yeah, that Multan dismissal was more frustrating because at that time we were few runs away if I had added another 20 runs, then Pakistan would’ve brought England under pressure,” he said.

The young cricketer said that he will learn from his mistakes and produce better results in the upcoming series against New Zealand.

“It is the start of my career and it is very important for me to learn from my mistakes and keep doing better than my previous performance,” he said.

“Karachi is my home ground and I love playing here; I will try to achieve my first Test century against New Zealand,” he aimed.

Squad

Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood