In a rare event, Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel was timed out during the final of the ongoing President’s Trophy between State Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan Television (PTV) in Rawalpindi. Saud, who is also the vice-captain of Pakistan’s Test team, became the first player from Pakistan and only the seventh ever in first-class cricket to be timed out.
The incident occurred when Saud was late in coming out to bat after two quick dismissals. PTV’s captain, Amad Butt, made a quick appeal after Saud failed to take his guard within the required three-minute window. Although Saud eventually took his guard, the umpires ruled that he had indeed been late, resulting in him being timed out.
The dismissal left the State Bank of Pakistan in a tough spot, as the team went from 128/1 to 128/5 in just three balls. Mohammad Shahzad, who had taken two wickets in consecutive balls, completed a hat-trick by dismissing Irfan Khan. State Bank of Pakistan was eventually bowled out for 205, with Imran Butt scoring 89 runs.
Due to Ramadan, the entire tournament is being played at night, from 7:30 pm to 2:30 am local time.
Saud was part of Pakistan’s squad for the recent Champions Trophy but was unable to help the team advance past the group stage. After Pakistan’s early exit from the tournament, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the squads for the upcoming New Zealand tour. While some changes were made to the ODI squad, both captain Mohammad Rizwan and star batter Babar Azam were left out of the T20I squad. Saud was not included in either the ODI or T20I squads.
The T20I squad will be led by all-rounder Salman Ali Agha, with Shadab Khan named as his vice-captain. Pakistan will play five T20Is and three ODIs in New Zealand starting March 16.
Pakistan Squads:
ODIs: Muhammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (VC), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam ul Haq, Khushdil Shah, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Wasim Jr., Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir.
T20Is: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (VC), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Muhammad Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.
