Usman Khan to keep wickets for Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, confirms Salman

For much of the past few years, there was no looking past Mohammad Rizwan for Pakistan. His batting skills were at times brought under scrutiny, but his wicketkeeping never got the same treatment. Even now, when Rizwan’s time in Pakistan’s T20I team might be over, there is no better keeper in the country. 

Wicketkeeper options aplenty

To match the sort of brilliance Rizwan brought to keeping the wickets, Pakistan kept weighing their options in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. 

Their squad has as many as three players who can be sorted as wicketkeepers: Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, and Khawaja Nafay. What's more is that all three of them are likely to make it to the playing XI as well. But captain Salman Ali Agha thinks no one would be a better choice than Usman Khan.

“Our Usman is the number one wicketkeeper. In the last match, his performance was excellent; he scored 50 runs at a position that helped the team reach 198, because I got out at that time,” Agha said.

Wicketkeeper batter with a good strike rate

The reason behind Rizwan’s axing was his inability to keep up with the pace of T20Is. This is why Salman thinks Pakistan need a wicketkeeper who can bat with a decent strike rate. 

“A team needs a batter who can score runs at a good strike rate, and he is our first-choice player for that reason,” Agha added.

“His keeping has been outstanding since his comeback, and I think he has been exceptional with the bat as well. He remains our first-choice player in both roles.”

Pakistan will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo. 

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