Birmingham, September 10 (Daily Kiran) : Pakistan’s batsman Saud Shakeel has acknowledged that his team is repeatedly making the same mistakes during the ongoing Test series against England. As the series progresses, Shakeel believes the team needs to demonstrate more patience and resilience. After losing the first two Tests, Pakistan was bowled out for just 133 runs in their first innings of the third Test in Birmingham on Wednesday.
“It’s frustrating. As a batting unit, we are making the same errors,” Shakeel stated, as reported by Cricinfo. “We have been giving away our wickets too easily.”
He added, “We are trying, but it is disappointing to see us continue to make these mistakes. I don’t think it’s a matter of confidence. If you lack the confidence to play at this level, you shouldn’t be here. It can be very challenging to overcome difficult situations and poor form.”
Shakeel has been the standout performer for Pakistan in this series, scoring 175 runs across four innings, while no other teammate has even reached the 100-run mark.
He pointed out that losing the toss and batting under overcast skies presented a crucial opportunity for partnerships. “As the Test progresses, the pitch will improve, but it had some bite initially. We lost the toss and batted first, which benefited England given the conditions. Their top order also struggled with the new ball, making it essential for us to capitalize on that,” he explained.
For the first time, Pakistan’s top five batsmen failed to score more than 10 runs in the first innings of a Test match in England. Shakeel managed to score the highest in the innings with 43 runs.
“I try to adapt my game according to the situation. With wickets falling around me, my best option was to score as many runs as possible. Therefore, I aimed to maintain balance according to the situation,” he noted.
Shakeel also expressed surprise at the assistance the bowlers have received throughout the series. Even established players like Joe Root are struggling to score runs. “Perhaps we are not used to this, but we are doing our best. We acknowledge our batting failures, but the conditions have favored the bowlers,” he concluded.
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