Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan for his brilliant performance in the recently-suspended Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020.
Shadab, Islamabad United captain, has hit 263 runs at an average of 37.57 and a strike-rate of 159.39 along with 8 wickets for the side before the fifth season of the PSL 2020 was called off by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) because of the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
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In the tournament, the all-rounder emerged as the surprise package for everyone as he grabbed the headlines for his batting instead of his spin-bowling – which may be inspired Aakash to pick Shadab as the player of the tournament.
Chopra told The Express Tribune, “Shadab Khan was the player of the tournament for me. Even though he took only eight wickets, but he batted really well, so well done to Shadab and our Adaab to you.”
The commentator also lauded Pakistan captain Babar Azam who was the highest run-scorer in the PSL 2020 with 345 runs in 10 games for the Karachi Kings, saying: “He has been absolutely brilliant. He is scoring runs consistently and was the highest run-scorer in this season.”
As the world battles coronavirus outbreak, he lauded the PCB for taking the decision at the right time to cut short and then suspend the PSL 2020 because of the growing concerns of the deadly virus.
Chopra said: “PCB did a really good job of changing the rules. They got rid of the playoffs and instead decided to stage two semi-finals in a single day in order to finish the tournament as soon as possible. However, it was unfortunate that it got postponed.”
Former India opener also believes that the packed stadiums and an "incident-free" PSL 2020 will encourage the other countries to tour Pakistan.
He signed off by saying, “But the best thing was to see cricket come back to Pakistan and the stadiums were filled with spectators. It was an incident-free PSL which is such a fantastic thing, as it would encourage other teams to tour Pakistan.”
(With The Express Tribune Inputs)
