Dambulla: Pakistan’s veteran all-rounder Shadab Khan was delighted to deliver a match-winning performance on his return to the national men’s cricket team, a month before the start of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Shadab, who last represented the Green Shirts in a domestic T20I series against Bangladesh in May 2025, missed several key assignments while recovering from a shoulder injury, including the white-ball tour of the West Indies, the tri-lateral T20I series involving the UAE and Afghanistan and the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 Asia Cup.
The 27-year-old made his competitive cricket return in December last year when he returned to Sydney Thunder in the ongoing Big Bash League (PBL) and immediately made an impact for the franchise with all-round brilliance that paved the way for his return to the international fold.
Shadab took his franchise-cricket form to the international level and was awarded the man-of-the-match award in Pakistan’s six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the opening match of the T20I series, aided by economic bowling figures of 2/25 in his four overs, unbeaten on 18 off 12 balls.
Reflecting on his match-winning return, Shatab Khan acknowledged the challenge of making a comeback in international cricket but expressed satisfaction with his current batting and bowling form.
“It’s tough to come back in internationals because you start from zero. Bowling and batting are going well, I’m trying to do simple things,” Shadab said in the post-match briefing.
“The surface definitely helped, but in cricket, you always have to assess the conditions. Here, perfection is better than good length,” he added.
Shadab’s return comes at a time when Pakistan is finalizing its preparations and squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
While his all-round performance on his return bolstered his case for making a cut in the Green Shirts squad for the mega event, Shatab insisted on focusing on one step at a time, after admitting that representing the national team at the highest level is his dream.
“As a player, your dream is always to play at the highest level. For me, it’s one step at a time. The team did really well – Mirza and Wasim gave us the platform for the spinners with their seam bowling.”
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