3 reasons why Shadab Khan would have been a perfect fit for India's men's ODI team

In recent times, Pakistan have been a strong force in white-ball cricket. The Men in Green made it to the semi-finals of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup before making it to the summit clash in the 2022 edition of the same tournament.

They are also the No. 1 ranked ODI side in the world and many consider them one of the favorites to win the upcoming 50-over World Cup in India.

One of the biggest reasons behind Pakistan's success in the shorter formats is 24-year-old all-rounder Shadab Khan.

Shadab has displayed maturity beyond his years in recent times to win plenty of games for his country. His presence in the side gives it a complete and finished look.

Even in the recently concluded ODI series against Afghanistan, Shadab Khan put in some brilliant performances for Pakistan, resulting in a 3-0 win for the team. Pakistan will hope for Shadab to retain his form for the next couple of months, as there are big trophies to be won.

In recent times, fans have been effusive in their praise of Shadab with many saying that if he was, in a hypothetical world, part of Team India, the side would have been a lethal outfit. On that note, here's a look at three reasons why Shadab Khan would have been a perfect fit for India's men's ODI team:

#1 Adds value lower down the order

The best teams in the world have a lot of depth in their batting, something which India have lacked in the last few years. This has been one of the reasons behind India's failure to win multi-national tournaments.

At the moment, India are in a situation where they may have to play four proper tailenders at numbers 8, 9, 10, and 11, which could be detrimental to the team in crunch situations.

As such, Shadab would have made a massive difference if he were a part of the Indian national team. The all-rounder has a batting average of 33.33 in Tests, 28.84 in ODIs, and 18.96 in T20Is, which is impressive given that he doesn't get to bat for too many overs.

Shadab's presence, temperament, and skills lower down the order would have been a huge boon for India, perhaps helping them win a few more tight games.

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#2 Can bat in the top-order

While Shadab Khan bats in the lower order for Pakistan, he is a brilliant batter who can easily bat in the top-4. He bats at No. 4 for his franchise, Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League and has played some special knocks for the team. In the 2022 season of the PSL, Shadab scored 268 runs, that too at a brilliant strike-rate of 162.42.

Thus, his presence in the Indian line-up would have added a lot of balance to the team, something that has been lacking in recent times. As a floater, Shadab would have given the captain plenty of options to play with, thus helping the team in the long-run.

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#3 A high-quality leggie, a terrific and a capable leader

While we has improved vastly with the bat, Shadab Khan initially started as a specialist spinner and has taken that aspect of game to a different level in recent times. He has done a remarkable job for Pakistan in both white-ball formats. He is also a gun in the field both as a catcher and fielder, often regarded as one of Pakistan's best-ever fielders.

Shadab is also an established leader, making him a complete package. He is the current vice-captain of Pakistan and has led his PSL team Islamabad United since 2019. Shoaib Akhtar recently said that he sees Shadab as a future national captain.

A package like Shadab Khan is tough to procure and so, if he was a part of India's line-up, it would only have made the team stronger.