Shadab ready to play for Pakistan, reckons Jones

Dubai - Islamabad United coach says 18-year-old is a 'special talent'

Islamabad United coach Dean Jones called leg spinner Shadab Khan a "special talent" and reckoned that the youngster is ready to take the next big step by playing for Pakistan.
The 18-year-old has made everyone sit up and take notice of his precious talent, in the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL). Shadab Khan has taken eight wickets in seven matches so far and he also has the fourth best bowling figures in an innings (3-13).
Those figures came against the Karachi Kings at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday night. He is a handy bat as well, having scored 42 against the Lahore Qalandars.
And Jones said that it was important to look after Shadab and nurture him.
"Shadab is a good boy and I will keep telling you again how good he is," said Jones.
"We need to watch him and look after him, watch him and prepare him. He is ready to play for Pakistan now. He is a very good fielder, he can hit sixes and is a brilliant bowler," added the former Australian batsman.
Jones also said that though Shadab may be just 18 years old, but he belies his age.
"He is a young kid, he has got a head on him like a 30-year-old, but he is only 18. You look how much cricket he has played, hardly any, but yet he seems to have the ability to know what to bowl, where his fielders are and where to play his shots. He is a special talent. That's what the PSL is all about. We want to do those things but we also want to develop some kids and he is special," Jones said.
Shadab has played for the Pakistan Under-19s and also Pakistan 'A' so far.
Meanwhile, talking about the loss to the Karachi Kings after Chris Gayle played a fine hand, Jones said it might have been interesting had it been a 20-over game.
"It would have been interesting if we didn't get a rain affected match. We prepared for the fact that he (Gayle) will play though. If you put a guy in a corner he is going to come out and bite. He is one of the greatest of all time at this form of the game. He had a good swing of the bat and probably changed the game in one over. And then, we had to play catch up," he said.
"But one thing about this Islamabad team is they won't give in, they won't give in and you must have seen right throughout this tournament. A lot of things had not gone our way, we won only three tosses, we pushed them (Karachi Kings) right till the last ball. We had a lot of things going against us at the start of the tournament, as you know they are well documented. And now, we qualified for the play-offs so we have got to play on and see what happens," added Jones.
james@khaleejtimes.com