Pakistani leg-spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan is having a great first season in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) Season 5 with the Colombo Strikers. After a disappointing performance in the recent T20 World Cup, where he didn’t take any wickets for Pakistan, Shadab has regained his form in Sri Lanka and is now the top wicket-taker in the tournament. Shadab started his LPL journey strongly with a hat-trick in his first match against the Kandy Falcons. Since then, he has been performing very well, taking a total of 16 wickets—more than any other bowler this season. His latest achievement was taking four wickets in a game against the Jaffna Kings at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Thinking about his comeback, Shadab admitted the difficulties he had before the Lanka Premier League. “I had a tough time for three months. I didn’t get any wickets in my last seven international matches. Coming here, starting to bowl, and now always getting wickets—that’s what makes cricket special. You have to enjoy these situations; sometimes you do well, sometimes you don’t. But you need to keep up the effort,” he said after his great 4/10 performance against the Jaffna Kings.
Talking about the conditions in Colombo, Shadab mentioned that the pitch was good for spin bowlers but stressed the need for different types of deliveries for a T20 bowler. “The pitch was slow and a bit sticky, which helped us. But T20 cricket is really challenging now, with 200 runs being easy to chase. As a spinner, you need different types of deliveries to do well on various pitches. Without these variations, you can give away runs, but with them, you can both get wickets and control the runs. It’s important to place the ball in the right spot,” Shadab explained.
Besides being skilled at bowling, Shadab wants to help the Colombo Strikers in many ways as a player who can do many things well. “I’m doing my best for the team, which is great. Being the main bowler, getting players out is good for me and the team. I want to help in all three areas—bowling, fielding, and hopefully, batting too,” Shadab concluded.
