PAK vs BAN: Saud Shakeel slams new Asian record
Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel set a new Asian record during his century against Bangladesh in the first Test at Rawalpindi, becoming the highest run-scorer in Asia’s history across the first 20 Test innings.
Recently appointed as Pakistan’s vice-captain in Test cricket, Shakeel came to the crease when his team was struggling on the first day. Pakistan had already lost three key players—Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, and Babar Azam—and were in trouble at 16-3.
Shakeel managed to stabilize the innings, forming a 98-run partnership with Saim Ayub for the fourth wicket. Later, he built a strong 240-run stand with Mohammad Rizwan, with both players reaching centuries.
Yesterday, Shakeel became the fastest Pakistani batter to reach 1,000 runs in Test cricket, achieving this milestone in just 20 innings. By the time he was stumped by Litton Das, he had scored 141 runs and broken another record.
Before this innings, Shakeel had scored 967 runs in 19 Test innings. His total now stands at 1,108 runs in 20 innings—the highest by any Asian batter in their first 20 Test innings.
Other Asian players who have scored 1,000 or more runs within 20 innings include Mayank Agarwal (India), Saeed Ahmed (Pakistan), Cheteshwar Pujara (India), and Vinod Kambli (India).
Among these players, Kambli held the record for the most runs after 20 innings, with 1,056. Shakeel surpassed this mark when he reached 90 runs in the 74th over.
Shakeel now ranks 17th on the all-time list, surpassing the West Indies’ George Headley, who scored 1,102 runs in his first 20 innings. The top player on this list is Don Bradman, who scored 1,889 runs. Everton Weekes is second with 1,445, and Herbert Sutcliffe is third with 1,348.
Among current players, England’s Harry Brook leads with 1,181 runs in his first 20 Test innings, while Marnus Labuschagne has 1,166.
It’s worth noting that India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal, one of the Asian players Shakeel has outpaced, has scored 1,028 runs in 16 innings, giving him four more innings to add to his tally. Jaiswal is expected to play against Bangladesh next month, where he could potentially surpass Shakeel.
