Shan may have finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the last two years then, but he had the second-worst strike rate of anyone in the top ten. His run-scoring appetite was impressive, and he had improved his conversion rate, but the speed with which he got those runs may have been a concern.

However, the person who would be picked over him (Imam-ul-Haq) possessed a Domestic One Day SR lesser than Shan. But Imam was five years younger than Shan, and there might have been an opinion that while this may be the best Shan can do, Imam could improve. He certainly possessed an enviable U19 record and had shown improvement in his final year there. Imam also had an excellent Asia Cup with the Emerging side, where he played three matches and amassed 238 runs at an average of 119.

In an ideal world, selectors would not be influenced by performances outside One Day cricket for selections pertaining to ODIs, but Pakistan cricket is far from ideal. Imam had also finished as the 3rd highest run-scorer in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2016/17.

Ultimately, it came down to a 28-year-old with strike rate issues or a prodigy who was beginning to find his feet and who may benefit from a series vs. a weak Sri Lanka side. Azhar Ali was still the incumbent; the next in line was Shehzad. Imam was thought to be essentially along for the ride.

Instead, Shan continued in his role as a Test opener, a bit surprising since his Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2016/17 was middling with 436 runs at an average of 36.3. It smells like a good old-fashioned case of format mixing where Pakistan’s selectors pulled off their best Akshay Kumar impression and placed Imam in the ODI side and Shan in the Test.

It is a credit to Imam that he grabbed his opportunity with both hands when Shehzad’s poor form resulted in him being dropped. A series of low scores could’ve opened the door for Shan. But alas, it was not to be; Imam sealed the backup opener spot and was ready to take over when Azhar Ali retired.

In 2018, Shan seemingly recognized that his strike rate may have been the reason he was passed up for ODI selection, and he came back with a vengeance. Not only did he average over 100 in both of the ODI competitions that year, but he also struck at well over the average for openers in each competition. He had taken his game to the next level and was once again knocking on the selectors’ door.

Unfortunately for him, both opener slots in the national ODI team were now filled. He received a call up for the Asia Cup as a backup opener, but understandably the management didn’t lose faith in openers who both averaged 50+. For their next two series, the focus shifted to the middle order and bowling, so Pakistan didn’t feel the need to include a backup opener, with Mohammad Hafeez assumed as the emergency option in case of injury.

However, Shan did receive a Pakistan A call-up and was lucky that this was one of the few times that Pakistan A had quality opposition over a sustained period. They would first play the England Lions and then New Zealand A in the UAE.

In his first game vs. the England Lions, Shan struck 161. He would also deliver impressive First Class performances, which resulted in his comeback to the Test team.

Although Shan struck an incredible 161, he couldn’t manage those many runs in total for his other seven matches with the A side. Nevertheless, the selectors accepted the 161 as enough proof that he was one of the best ODI openers in the country, and he had a golden opportunity vs. Australia in 2019 when most of Pakistan’s ODI squad was rested post-PSL. He, however, was unable to give a worthy account of himself and was once again pipped by a man scoring a century on ODI debut – Abid Ali.

Abid Ali had been, like Shan, a consistent performer in Domestic One Days. In the same match as Shan’s 161, he struck 140. He would then have a similar dip to Shan for the rest of the games. But when the opportunity presented itself, he grabbed it and wrote his name down as Pakistan’s backup opener. Ultimately, he would find that name erased from the World Cup squad, but for the series after that, he was seen as Pakistan’s 3rd opener.

In the 2020 Zimbabwe Series, Abdullah Shafiq, much like Imam before him, was brought into the squad to gain a bit of experience of how it feels to be near the national team. As the fourth opener of the squad, the likelihood of him playing was low and he didn’t turn out for a single ODI.

Moving forward, in the 2021 South Africa series, Abid was unceremoniously dumped out of the side, and Abdullah was essentially promoted to the position of the backup opener. That has continued into the England series and now the New Zealand series that is about to get underway. The selectors seem to rate Abdullah very highly and perhaps feel that since the opening combo is set in stone, grooming a young replacement seems the right way forward.

This now marks the second time Shan has been passed up for a younger player who the people in charge feel has a higher ceiling. It seems that in Pakistan cricket, you are either a prodigy and you may play too early, or you are someone who understands his game too late and then spend the rest of your career being passed up for people who are not currently better than you but might be in the future.

Shan’s story is an indictment of a system that doesn’t believe in mid-career player improvement. To some, he will always remain the fidgety Test player with no power game that he was before 2016. And that image will come back to haunt him whenever he has a short stretch of bad games. Even if he averages over 100 at an SR over 90 for three years or scores runs in South Africa, Australia, and England.