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Asad Shafiq - The man of crisis

Cricket_Engineer said:
Any half-decent batsman can increase an average of 26 (which Shafiq will struggle to).

And Fawad averaging 49 before the Australia series, you are right it is very difficult to maintain that. He will be a 40-45 batsman
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fawad, i suspect will not get many chances going forward.
 
When will this man ever take the initiative to be the key player in an innings? Yes it is one innings, but it looks as though he just goes through the motions.
 
An average batsman that will never be a match winner or impact player.
 
Bilal7 said:
Today wasn't exactly a crisis situation.
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Is that why Pakistan has lost the game advantage to NZ and they might as well square the series? Looking at the context yes a horrible knock. He had to step up now and put Pakistan in a comfortable place but he is just a mediocre player.
 
MRSN said:
Is that why Pakistan has lost the game advantage to NZ and they might as well square the series? Looking at the context yes a horrible knock. He had to step up now and put Pakistan in a comfortable place but he is just a mediocre player.
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He just never shows up. He is a mediocre test player and all his fanboys can continuously only point to his class and saying that will make him show up. He has had time, persistence, pressure situations, no pressure situations.

Point to the fact that he hasn't been put into a position to succeed, et al. These are just excuses, the same ones used for Umar. It is time to put up or shut up. No more of this he will come good. At 29, you are in your prime and this player has shown nothing to think he is the key piece of the future for Pakistan.
 
MRSN said:
Is that why Pakistan has lost the game advantage to NZ and they might as well square the series? Looking at the context yes a horrible knock. He had to step up now and put Pakistan in a comfortable place but he is just a mediocre player.
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The second innings will be the crisis situation and InshAllah he'll step up. He failed today yes, but not in what can be called a crisis.

Mediocre player? He's a good test player and better than anyone that is currently out of the team.
 
Bilal7 said:
The second innings will be the crisis situation and InshAllah he'll step up. He failed today yes, but not in what can be called a crisis.

Mediocre player? He's a good test player and better than anyone that is currently out of the team.
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Based on what? Just because you said so?
 
Bilal7 said:
The second innings will be the crisis situation and InshAllah he'll step up. He failed today yes, but not in what can be called a crisis.

Mediocre player? He's a good test player and better than anyone that is currently out of the team.
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You do not always wait for the crisis to play a good innings , his shot was uncalled for today. Pakistan has invested a lot on him and he must give it back to pakistan. I have always seen him as a mediocre player but there has been years of investment on him and we cant kick him out now.
 
steelo green said:
Based on what? Just because you said so?
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No, based on his past performances.

JibranAnsari said:
You do not always wait for the crisis to play a good innings , his shot was uncalled for today. Pakistan has invested a lot on him and he must give it back to pakistan. I have always seen him as a mediocre player but there has been years of investment on him and we cant kick him out now.
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If he was playing good innings all the time, he wouldn't have any haters. He's a good player, not a mediocre one and will become more consistent once the oldies retire.

You can only do so much batting at #6.
 
Bilal7 said:
No, based on his past performances.



If he was playing good innings all the time, he wouldn't have any haters. He's a good player, not a mediocre one and will become more consistent once the oldies retire.

You can only do so much batting at #6.
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Hope he does , Hasn't done anything to change my opinion yet.
 
JibranAnsari said:
Hope he does , Hasn't done anything to change my opinion yet.
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Two centuries against South Africa, crucial runs against England and some good knocks against other teams should have changed your opinion. Mediocre players do not do this.
 
Bilal7 said:
Two centuries against South Africa, crucial runs against England and some good knocks against other teams should have changed your opinion. Mediocre players do not do this.
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Still not upto the mark , averaged 32 last year and averaging 37 after playing on flat tracks this yea. he is 30 , if we go by pakistani age.
 
Plays at number 6 which is not his natural position.
Most of the times has to play the second new ball.
He is a gutsy batsman and his records agaikst the top side speak for itself.
Whipping boy for most fans besides Misbah.
 
Man of crisis plays a terrible shot at a crucial time and people start defending with all these excuses. If Umar Akmal had done that no one would be speaking about the batting position he comes in which is usually one that he does not prefer. He also happens to be 5-6 years older than Umar. If Umar had played similary, there would be 15 threads about it by now.
 
He's the only one who doesn't seem to have cashed in on these Dubai pitches over the last 5 tests there. Has he gone on to make a big score in that time?
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
He's the only one who doesn't seem to have cashed in on these Dubai pitches over the last 5 tests there. Has he gone on to make a big score in that time?
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Precisely. You see other players averaging in the 100s yet he can't, and that too at a slow rate.

Sarfraz has been a revelation, but I am still sceptical about how he will play abroad. Haris could have played 1 match instead of him. I hope selectors don't look at that one score of 89 just like they looked at that 1 score of 40.

Both scores are extremely poor in my opinion (especially 40 wth!) on flat wickets where both sides have cashed in on, particularly Pakistanis.
 
salman24 said:
Man of crisis plays a terrible shot at a crucial time and people start defending with all these excuses. If Umar Akmal had done that no one would be speaking about the batting position he comes in which is usually one that he does not prefer. He also happens to be 5-6 years older than Umar. If Umar had played similary, there would be 15 threads about it by now.
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He doesn't have the technique. :yk2

On a serious note, U. Akmal has mainly played outside of the SC with only 1 innings in the SC but yet, averages 35.82 with a SR of 65.98, which is an astonishing record for a SC batsman and that at too the ages of 19-21.

On the other hand, you have shafiq who averages 23.35 with a SR of 38.76 away from the SC.

If Akmal had as many chances as shafiq in the SC, he would have been averaging close to 47.
 
^^^ Agreed. And people need to also understand the importance of fear factor.

Even if Shafiq averages 100 he is not imposing! I can't imagine any bowler feeling worried/intimidated when they bowl to him. I guarantee if someone like Kohli did not have that fear factor about him then he would have scored a lot less.

But the fact is not only is Shafiq timid in stature and personality, but he is terrible. When Pakistan an opener in another team I feel that's a bad thing because then I see Sanga, Kohli etc. coming out. I think oppositions will be cheering when a 5'4 batsman averaging 26 at a SR of 69 comes out at #3.
 
Surprised to check Cricinfo out and discover he's nearing 30 years of age and still hasn't made it big bar a score here or there.

Should have carried on after that ton in South Africa on a difficult pitch vs Steyn and the rest but his averages overall are still less than desirable.
 
Varun said:
Surprised to check Cricinfo out and discover he's nearing 30 years of age and still hasn't made it big bar a score here or there.

Should have carried on after that ton in South Africa on a difficult pitch vs Steyn and the rest but his averages overall are still less than desirable.
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Now you see why I resent him. If he scores 30 off 50 balls, expect Misbah to come out saying 'he is a youngster and he performed well blah blah blah'.

I genuinely feel Misbah has ruined the team with his bizarre selections, he has routinely advocated the selection of Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik, and has tried his upmost to make Shafiq and Azhar permanent fixtures in the team. He also had a favourite buddy in Abdur Rehman, but found someone more similarly aged to him in Zulfiqar Babar.

The fact that Haris Sohail scored big in the warm-up games and was selected for the test series (missing out on the UAE ODI series and FC games) and he hasn't been given a single test match is so frustrating.
 
The man of crisis has put Pakistan into a deep crisis. This guy will never improve. One good innings in whole season and yet gets away with that.
 
MRSN said:
The man of crisis has put Pakistan into a deep crisis. This guy will never improve. One good innings in whole season and yet gets away with that.
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The thing is, 5 test matches on flat wickets and the highest score he could muster was 89. A player that PCB continually persist with and against players like Sodhi, Craig, O'Keefe etc. and he failed to score when everyone else was cashing in.
 
Mir jibran said:
I would prefer Younus over him in odis
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I agree an average of 30+ and experience in Australian conditions is much mor valuable than man of crisis with his average of 26.

Hopefully man of crisis can take Pakistan out of a crisis in this test match to somewhat justify his spot in the team
 
He's due a big innings but when has a century by him been enough for the haters?
 
Bilal7 said:
He's due a big innings but when has a century by him been enough for the haters?
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Stop defending him. He scores a century and follows it up with 5-6 failures. He has never been consistent and at 30 if you are not consistent, you will never be consistent.
 
steelo green said:
Stop defending him. He scores a century and follows it up with 5-6 failures. He has never been consistent and at 30 if you are not consistent, you will never be consistent.
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How consistent was Misbah at 30?
 
Bilal7 said:
How consistent was Misbah at 30?
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I thought you intended to write 20 instead of 30.

Notwithstanding, how Asad is performing as a batman but 30 is a high time for any batsman when he is mentally mature and his reflexes are still good enough. 25-35 are the ripe years for a batsman . Before 25 he is raw with his temperament/inexperience and after 35 reflexes get slow.
 
waqar goraya said:
I thought you intended to write 20 instead of 30.

Notwithstanding, how Asad is performing as a batman but 30 is a high time for any batsman when he is mentally mature and his reflexes are still good enough. 25-35 are the ripe years for a batsman . Before 25 he is raw with his temperament/inexperience and after 35 reflexes get slow.
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What?
 
Bilal7 said:
How consistent was Misbah at 30?
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An argument I thought you would bring up. A poor one at that. Firstly, Misbah is an exception, very few have done what he has at his age, secondly Shafiq has been groomed and played a huge amount of matches which is indictive with age if he will actually be consistent, thirdly, Misbah played 5 test matches behind our big 3 before he finally got a real chance with Inzi retired. He was unlucky he simply never got a consistent run. Not comparable at all.
 
steelo green said:
An argument I thought you would bring up. A poor one at that. Firstly, Misbah is an exception, very few have done what he has at his age, secondly Shafiq has been groomed and played a huge amount of matches which is indictive with age if he will actually be consistent, thirdly, Misbah played 5 test matches behind our big 3 before he finally got a real chance with Inzi retired. He was unlucky he simply never got a consistent run. Not comparable at all.
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Misbah became the batsman he is after being burdened with responsibility. I expect Shafiq to do the same.
 
Shafiq needs to show maturity now. The honeymoon period is over. He needs to step it up now as a senior batsman in the team.
 
salman24 said:
I agree an average of 30+ and experience in Australian conditions is much mor valuable than man of crisis with his average of 26.

Hopefully man of crisis can take Pakistan out of a crisis in this test match to somewhat justify his spot in the team
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rightly said
if they have to take Younus then play him instead of asad
no need to drop maqsood or fawad
 
As much as I like Shafiq, there is no point in denying that he's incosistent and now it is time for him to step up as the senior batsman and take the mantle from Younis and Misbah. Gets too many low scores for my liking.

Unlike others, I don't think that investing on Azhar and Shafiq has been a waste; they have done a decent job so far but both are now in the peak years of their careers with 5 years of regular Test cricket. The time has come for them to take their game to the next level.

Azhar has been a run machine over the last 5 Tests but needs to show some conviction and authority at the crease.
 
^^ nonetheless, I'm up for giving Shafiq an extended run @3 in ODIs and his Test place is in no danger either. One of the best batsman we have but naturally needs to do more. The justifications for the inconsistency is what irks me.
 
Big litmus test coming for him. InshAllah he'll do well.
 
All eyes on him and Sarfarz now, need a ton at least, from both of them TBH.
 
Bilal7 said:
Misbah became the batsman he is after being burdened with responsibility. I expect Shafiq to do the same.
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Hahahaha instead of answering how they are completely different situations you try and add another aside that has no relevance whatsoever. You're grasping at nothing.
 
steelo green said:
He'll get out soon and secondly this is the problem. He'll have one half decent albeit useless innings and people have the cycle of getting hopeful. An average of 37 speaks for itself.
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This is the age of late 30s average batsmen in pakistan.
 
Misbah has a first class average of 50 ..you cant compare him to shafiq. Another testimony that FC record isnt ****.
 
He Shouldn't be batting at 6.

No.4 would suit him more i feel but that's Younis for now.
 
I'd like to see the management try and make sure Asad and Sarfraz bat together in ODIs. The bat so well together, and have been together since their club days I think. Asad and Sarfraz should be at 3 and 4 respectively.
 
He's doing pretty well here.
Hopefully he can salvage some pride for us.
 
steelo green said:
He'll get out soon and secondly this is the problem. He'll have one half decent albeit useless innings and people have the cycle of getting hopeful. An average of 37 speaks for itself.
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It's the same old repetitive nonsense!

We can never progress beyond these 30 averaging batsmen. :facepalm:
 
If the averages of the bowlers are inflated, doesn't that mean the averages of the batsmen are deflated?

I think if Shafiq cuts down on the low scores (which he should be all means), he's good enough to average around 45. Same goes for Azhar. In spite of their inconsistencies, they're hovering around and over the 40 mark.
 
steelo green said:
He'll get out soon and secondly this is the problem. He'll have one half decent albeit useless innings and people have the cycle of getting hopeful. An average of 37 speaks for itself.
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Like I said, there is no pleasing you haters. Asad Shafiq is a very good player under pressure and will take his game to the next level once the oldies retire.
 
Please stop bashing Shafiq because if he can get his average to 50 by the time he is 34-35 then nobody can replace him because he has shown the potential to be our #4 for the next 5-6 years. Look at Kolhi's average, statistics don't explain everything.
 
Mamoon said:
If the averages of the bowlers are inflated, doesn't that mean the averages of the batsmen are deflated?

I think if Shafiq cuts down on the low scores (which he should be all means), he's good enough to average around 45. Same goes for Azhar. In spite of their inconsistencies, they're hovering around and over the 40 mark.
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You forgot to add the fact, shafiq averages 38 in FC and azhar around 35, whilst the likes of Haris and Fawad average 50, with U. Akmal around 47 and Maqsood near 45.

So, if shafiq can average 45, then both Haris and Fawad should average around 55.
 
Azhar's average was before he made his intl. debut and you could say, both Fawad and Haris might average 60 even.
 
Fawad and Haris definitely have a strong case but watching Umar and Maqsood bat, you can't trust them in Test cricket and they are quite some time away from making it into the Test lineups. No aptitude to occupy the crease, risky shots, three dots and they are bound to do something stupid.

Give me Azhar and Shafiq over Umar and Maqsood in Test cricket any day.
 
Both Umar and Maaqsood are outperforming them in FC, so why can't you trust them in Test cricket?

Btw, U. Akmal played his Test matches outside the SC and averages 35, which is only -3 from shafiq's average and look at how many games shafiq has played in the SC.

But how can you justify shafiq and azhar's selection over Fawad and Haris?
 
I think if Pakistan want to stick with asad move him to number 3 where he can blossom. Make azhar to open.
Umar akmal should not be considered for another 5 years with his attitude and recklessness. Fawad/haris/babar should replace yk and misbah when they retire.
 
Depends on how they are getting those runs. If they are whirlwind, flashy knocks I can see why the selectors and Misbah aren't impressed. Both lack the ability to construct a proper innings in my opinion.

Haris and Fawad make a strong case yes, but I don't think Azhar and Shafiq deserve to be chopped. They are doing well.

Younis and Misbah will be replaced by those two.
 
The thing with watching life in the rear view mirror is that you have to swallow your bike quite often.
 
If you like Shafiq

This has been a great innings under pressure, once again he has turned up to save the game like he did vs SA but had no support from the other end. Showed his ability to bat in crisis.

If you don't like Shafiq

A useless innings, failed to turn up when he needed to and scored another overrated because there was no pressure.
 
The thing with watching life in the rear view mirror is that you have to swallow your bile quite often.
 
People want Azhar to open because we have no other opener but he will be as slow in scoring as opener so there is no point in moving him up there. Also there is no sign of him moving up to open as the management clearly wants him to play as our #3 so Shafiq will play as #4 and Fawad,Akmal, and Haris will play for #5 and #6 after Misbah and Younis's retirements.
 
Pete Rose said:
The thing with watching life in the rear view mirror is that you have to swallow your bile quite often.
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The thing about people who get excited about one innings is it is a knee jerk. When he consistently fails it becomes the narrative "just wait until he comes good", then one good innings and it is "see I was right!!!!"

How about you wait until he does it for 5 matches, not one innings..

And I don't mean 100 every innings, just play the ball on merit and get easy 50s and build to centuries where you can.
 
Bilal7 said:
Like I said, there is no pleasing you haters. Asad Shafiq is a very good player under pressure and will take his game to the next level once the oldies retire.
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"Criticizing a player from the team you cheer for, you must be a hater!"

I have seen enough of Shafiq to know he is inconsistent and has done nothing to disprove that. People don't care for one innings from anyone else, they need to see it in 5-10 consistent innings, but Shafiq does it once and all of a sudden the knives are out as though you were right. One innings need not define a career. An adage I continuously refer to when people get excited about these kinds of performances.

Same thing with Azhar and his SL century.
 
My favourite narratives by some.

"Hafeez is awful, he will be found out, his near 200 was not a big deal on a flat pitch against NZ"

"Shafiq is class, he showed it this innings, everyone else was wrong, I was right, ignore what was said about Hafeez, it is not relevant in Shafiq's case because I am his fan. Also ignore the first innings, that doesn't mean anything, only this particular innings matters, not the body of work that has led realists to conclude that Shafiq is an inconsistent player"
 
If Shafiq also became consistent along with scoring centuries under pressure, he would be competing eith he likes if ABD. He's not some ATG but is not a mediocre player either. No one can replace him from the FC scene.

When he starts batting at #4 or #5, then you will see him become more consistent since he will have to do the bulk of the scoring. I see him as a player who can average 45 by the end of his career.
 
Mamoon said:
Depends on how they are getting those runs. If they are whirlwind, flashy knocks I can see why the selectors and Misbah aren't impressed. Both lack the ability to construct a proper innings in my opinion.

Haris and Fawad make a strong case yes, but I don't think Azhar and Shafiq deserve to be chopped. They are doing well.

Younis and Misbah will be replaced by those two.
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azhar and shafiq are doing well?

One is averaging in the high 30's, whilst the other was also averaging 38, but it has been raised thanks to the Aus series.

So, you would rather persist with mediocrity, rather than a quality line up of Haris, Younis, Misbah and Fawad?

All of them would be averaging 45+ and batting from no. 3-6 would look formidable.
 
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