Naushad Shaikh is a batsman from Osmanabad, Maharashtra who made his List A debut in late 2015 and slowly graduated into Ranji trophy (first-class cricket), making his Ranji debut in the 2016 edition of the tournament. Shaikh is primarily a lower/middle order batsman who is capable of launching the big hits in List A and T20 cricket, as well as anchoring an innings in first-class games. However, he has certainly struggled for consistency, especially in the longer format, averaging in the mid-thirties in first-class cricket despite a few scintillating hundred. They have come with large gaps between them, though, as Shaikh searches for that string of performances in first-class cricket to make the big jump into the league of the Test players. He has also started bowling off-breaks consistently to add another dimension to his T20 game and his performances with the ball in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy have been impressive and economical, which makes him an interesting potential buy in future editions of the Indian Premier League.
Written by Rishi Roy