Shakeel needed 33 runs to get to 1,000 runs ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka, with the batter eventually getting to the landmark on the first day of the series in Rawalpindi on Wednesday (August 21).

Batting at No.5, Shakeel walked out with the scorecard reading 16-3 following Babar Azam’s dismissal. Together with opener Saim Ayub, Shakeel steadied the ship, during which he also got to the 1,000-run landmark in just his 20th innings, equalling an all-time Pakistan record that stood for 65 years.

Back in 1959, Saeed Ahmed had become the fastest to 1,000 Test runs, getting to the feat against Australia in the third Test at Karachi.

READ: Kamran Akmal: Saud Shakeel can reach the level of Babar Azam and Virat Kohli

Shakeel’s phenomenal start to his Test career

Shakeel made his Test debut in 2022 and has played 12 Tests since then. Before the series against Sri Lanka, he made 967 runs at an average of 60.43. Shakeel also made two hundreds and six fifties in 19 innings, including a double hundred against Sri Lanka at Galle last year.

However, he crossed 50 just once in his next eight innings. In his first series away from Asia, in Australia, Shakeel made only 92 runs at an average of 15.33, making it the first time he averaged below 55 in a Test series.

Back in familiar conditions, both Pakistan and Shakeel would be hoping to turn things around against Bangladesh.

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