Borde: Shadab Khan now familiar with Oval wicket

The decision by TKR to select Khan in the 2017 CPL draft seemed to be an excellent one, as the young spinner tormented the West Indies batsmen during the West Indies/Pakistan T20 series, which concluded on Sunday.

Khan, who is 18 years old, won the Player of the Series award after taking 10 wickets in the fourmatch T20 series which Pakistan won 3-1. Khan played three matches at the Queen’s Park Oval during the series, and Borde said it augurs well for him.

“It was great for him to get an opportunity to bowl at the Oval in a competitive enviroment in which he will be playing in a few months time,” said Borde. “He now has had a chance to assess the wickets, boundary distances, direction of wind and run-ups.

Hopefully this will work well for us in the tournament. Shadab is a special talent.” Khan was one of the standout players in the Pakistan T20 Super League earlier this year, grabbing nine wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 6.61.

Borde explained that it was a collaborative effort in selecting Khan. Borde said, “The coach, captain, technical team and scouts all saw him in the Pakistan League and after discussions with senior players, it was felt that he would be ideal for the team, its general plans and what the wickets offered here in the CPL.” Borde said it was difficult to see the West Indies batsmen struggle against Khan, but said it was great to witness the Knight Riders new signing succeed. “From a West Indies point of view, it was tough to watch as he made life very hard for our players. From a TKR perspective it was great to see him perform so well in an unfamiliar enviroment.” Khan is one of five spinners on the Knight Riders squad with Sunil Narine (off-spin), Nikita Miller, Brad Hogg and Khary Pierre (left-arm) also selected in the 2017 CPL draft. Borde said the spinners will provide a competitive environment when selecting a starting 11 and it gives captain Dwayne Bravo options.

“The variety, experience and quality in attack will give the captain options based on the various factors that arise in team selection and that is always a plus,” Borde said. “Competition is good.”