Pakistan’s vice-captain in red-ball cricket Saud Shakeel made history on Day 1 of the first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh as he equalled a 65-year-old record set by Saeed Ahmed.
The middle-order batter became the joint-fastest Pakistani batter to reach 1,000 runs in Test cricket, taking 20 innings to reach the milestone.
The record was first set by former batter Saeed Ahmed who reached the milestone in the 20 innings during the Karachi Test against Australia in 1959.
Since his Test debut for Pakistan against England in December 2022, Saud Shakeel has been a permanent feature on the national side.
Known for his consistency and masterclass batting, the 28-year-old has hit two tons and six fifties in his career, including a highest score of 208 not out.
In international cricket, the record for the fastest to 1,000 Test runs remains with England’s Herbert Sutcliffe, who achieved the feat in just 12 innings.
Read more: Watch: Angry Shan Masood argues with umpire after ‘controversial’ dismissal
Meanwhile, Shakeel scored an unbeaten half-century as Pakistan posted 158 over the loss of four wickets on the board before bad light forced early stumps on the opening day of the first Test against Bangladesh.
Saud Shakeel and wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan, unbeaten on 57 and 24 respectively, will now resume Pakistan’s first innings on the second day.
Earlier, after being put into bat first, Pakistan got off to a disastrous start as they lost three wickets inside nine overs.
Pakistan lost opening batter Abdullah Shafique (2) in the fourth over, while skipper Shan Masood (6) and star batter Babar Azam (0) fell prey to Shoriful Islam, leaving Pakistan reeling at 16-3.
