T20 Blast 2023: Naseem Shah to Shadab Khan and Haider Ali – Hit and flop Pakistan cricketers

Pacer Naseem Shah, all-rounder Shadad Khan, batters Shan Masood and Haider Ali have fallen flat in the tournament so far. The only shining knights from the county have been pacers Shaheen Afridi and Zaman Khan who are playing their trades for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire respectively.

With more than half of the league stage matches done and dusted, let’s have a look at how Pakistan players fared in the T20 Blast 2023 (Vitality Blast 2023).

Flop Pakistan cricketers in T20 Blast 2023

Naseem Shah: The young pacer was signed as short-term replacement for Afghanistan’s Naveen-ul-Haq by Leicestershire. The 20-year-old flop show emerged as a major turn off. He played five matches for Leicestershire and picked just four wickets at an average of 35 and an economy rate of 7.36.

Shadab Khan: The star all-rounder and the vice-captain of the Pakistan white-ball team has disappointed Sussex and his fans. With the bat, Shadab has scored 107 runs in eight matches at an average of 13.37 and a strike rate of 121.59. His leg-spin bowling has managed to pick just six wickets in eight matches at an average of 37.83 and an economy of 9.94.

Shan Masood: The captain of Yorkshire has performed horrifically so far in the T20 Blast 2023. The southpaw has scored 118 runs in nine matches at an average of 16.85 and a strike rate of 126.88. His best score this season is 34.

Hit Pakistan cricketers in T20 Blast 2023

Haider Ali: The Pakistan star hit a four on the final delivery to help his team Derbyshire settle for a thrilling tie against Durham on Friday. He scored 26 unbeaten runs off just 13 balls.

Haider Ali’s last five innings have seen him score 16*, 42, 48, 74 and 32. The turnaround after scoring 1, 11 and 10 in the first three matches has been special for the 22-year-old right-hand batter.

Shaheen Afridi: The star left-arm pacer has played nine matches for Nottinghamshire so far. He has picked 13 wickets at an average of 24 and an economy rate of 8.91. The last four matches have seen him pick eight wickets.

Zaman Khan: The 20-year-old pacer from Mirpur made his Pakistan debut in March this year. Just six matches old in international cricket, Zaman has done wonderfully well for Derbyshire. In his last match against Durham, Zaman Khan picked four wickets for 21 runs.

Currently, he is the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker in Vitality Blast 2023. He has picked 15 wickets in nine matches at an average of 19.60 and an economy rate of 8.64.

Usama Mir: The leg-spinner made his Pakistan debut with an ODI match against New Zealand in January this year. He is yet to play a T20I match for Pakistan. The 27-year-old has played four matches for Worcestershire in the season and picked eight wickets at an average of 12.50 and a strike rate of 6.25.