Asad Shafiq - Will he ever find his batting peak?

[JibranAnsari]

Regular in the team since 2012 and 31 years of age , at this stage of a batsman's career you expect great things from him. A few years of averaging 50 , 50 or even 70 but consistency is the big issue with shafiq. Scored two good hundreds last year but overall was inconsistent and this year hasnt really started well for him. Will he find his batting peak anytime soon?

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

he still doesnt how to play

The same issues he has in ODIS are increasingly creeping into tests. I thought he turned a new corner after that 100 at the Oval, but he has gone back to being timid.

 

[Citizen4]

he's simply not good enough to fill the shoes of Misbah and get promoted in the batting order. Too inconsistent, mentally weak, can't lead, can't score a big 100 or play at hight strike rate if required. At this point he dont deserve to play regularly, he can stay with the team but shouldnt play regularly, Salahuddin should get chances now.

We all saw how big of a disappointment he was in ODIs, now he is starting to prove it in tests too.
Last year was his biggest test but he ended up with a mediocre record when he was supposed to be at his peak. Most ducks in a calander year by a Pakistani test batsman, that's some record to have.

Management trust him though, he might not get dropped soon, he will save his place by scoring when it wouldn't matter much. His average is on the verge of being dropped below 40, as a test batsman for a big team, it is not acceptable at all, he is overrated.

 

[Speedster777]

Shafiq is a gift of Misbah's legacy an atrocious batsman but "acha bacha".

 

[Hawkeye]

Shafiq is a gift of Misbah's legacy an atrocious batsman but "acha bacha".

Yeah, #blameMisbah .

When I started the Shafiq is a failure in pressure situation thread, everyone here bashed me.

People have realized this only now that Shafiq just isn't what he should've been.

 

[Markhor]

Every time you want him to kick on and dominate a series after a good knock (Lord's, The Oval, Brisbane) he doesn't follow it up.

Even in England, his two big knocks were with Younis and Misbah at the other end. I like him but he has been given the golden boy treatment, all the ex-players rate him highly, but no player can be indispensable.

I'd give him the Roseau Test but Usman Salahuddin should be breathing down his neck.

 

[asfandyar]

Although he has done quite well over the years, I believe it is time to replace him with a pace all rounder, someone like Yamin or Fahim. Yamin is fully capable of averaging close to what Asad is averaging at the moment, with an added advantage of a fifth bowler.

 

[The_Odd_One]

About time he is dropped. He brings no value to the team. Pathetic batsman!

 

[coy0607]

his deficiencies have been greatly masked by Younis, Azhar and Misbah...

going forward, I think he'll get a lot more criticism. With 50+ test matches, he really hasn't shown any improvement, if anything he may have regressed

 

[RickyG]

Asad Shafiq has been a bit unlucky. I think he was held back at number 6 for a little too long and should've been promoted earlier. He is probably the third best bat we have against quality pace bowling after Azhar and Younis. Batting at 6 is never easy and averaging 40+ at number 6 is a decent enough return.

The disappointing thing about Shafiq's batting is that he doesn't look self-assured. He knows his game and is aware of the match situation but he doesn't spread that feeling of calmness that Azhar, Younis or even Misbah do.

He probably just about deserves a promotion after the 2 oldies are gone. He deserves the opportunity to prove himself as a premier middle order batsman especially after what the investment in him. That being said, if he doesn't improve in the next couple of series then he will probably be out of the team.

 

[shah_1]

Harris and Usman are much better batsman than him

No wonder his FC average is pretty low

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

The problem with him is that he hasn't improved. Still gets out to the ball coming in getting squared in an awkward manner.

I'm of the opinion that he should be rested for some time along with shehzad.

 

[idrizzy]

Problem is that he hasn't scored big runs. Fair enough he plays at #6 - probably the best #6 in the world last year - but once promoted he just wasn't cut out for it. Another failure in the 2nd innings for him and pressure is mounting up on him. He will keep his place but I'm interested to see how he does in the last test.

 

[Uzair Tariq]

You are forgetting his blinder of an innings in Brisbane test match.

 

[Justcrazy]

You are forgetting his blinder of an innings in Brisbane test match.

He could not win that game.

 

[Justcrazy]

Probably this is the limit of Asad , he is old enough to realize this , but he is not doing anything about that. He lacks ambition to be knows as world class.

 

[waleed88]

Poor guy has to bat with the tail half the time, along with the fact that he takes time to get settled to the crease, farming the strike most of the time doesn't allow that, he has to play his shots or get out due to the pressure of being the only run getter...

 

[Gabbar Singh]

He needs to bat at 4 or 5.

 

[Bilal7]

He's a good test batsman and expecting him to average 60 or 70 in tests, even for just a year is unfair. Not every batsman in our team can be a great one and for every Younis, there have to be two or three Misbahs. That is how a well-balanced, good test team is structured.

However, he isn't liking the Caribbean so I would give Usman Salahuddin the last test and see what he's got. If we win this test, most of the bench should be given a game.

 

[Mir jibran]

time for usman sallahudin to get his debut in last test

 

[phoenix363]

He's already at/slightly past his peak. That innings against Australia is as good as it will get.

People expect him to have this ridiculously high ceiling but truth be told he has never looked as convincing as Azhar and always seemed like he was hidden away and would suddenly flourish when moved up the order.

 

[kingusama92]

He's a good batsman.

But you can't build a batting order around him and that will never change. It is what it is.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Regular in the team since 2012 and 31 years of age , at this stage of a batsman's career you expect great things from him. A few years of averaging 50 , 50 or even 70 but consistency is the big issue with shafiq. Scored two good hundreds last year but overall was inconsistent and this year hasnt really started well for him. Will he find his batting peak anytime soon?

He is always under pressure. He only plays well when he is on the offensive. After Misbah he will be on the chopping block. Misbah was protecting him through out his career. He is a veteran now, He should be a solid bat, but it is not happening for him.

 

[Faisalsq092]

Asad Shafiq has been a bit unlucky. I think he was held back at number 6 for a little too long and should've been promoted earlier. He is probably the third best bat we have against quality pace bowling after Azhar and Younis. Batting at 6 is never easy and averaging 40+ at number 6 is a decent enough return.

The disappointing thing about Shafiq's batting is that he doesn't look self-assured. He knows his game and is aware of the match situation but he doesn't spread that feeling of calmness that Azhar, Younis or even Misbah do.

He probably just about deserves a promotion after the 2 oldies are gone. He deserves the opportunity to prove himself as a premier middle order batsman especially after what the investment in him. That being said, if he doesn't improve in the next couple of series then he will probably be out of the team.

Ok, so getting an extended cushion from the senior men is also detrimental for Shafiq? You can only make so many excuses. The treatment Shafiq got, any half decent batsman would have maintained those figures. It is criminal that guys like Fawad, Haris and Usman were left to toil in the domestics while this man got all the support. This guy has played a whopping 55 tests already and still doesn't inspire confidence, how many batsman in Pakistan have played 55 tests without getting dropped? These tests are as many as Saeed Anwar or Hanif Mohammad played in their entire careers. What more could he have asked with so much support? Heck, even Hafeez has scored more runs than him in 5 less test matches, we all despise but even he haven't played this many tests, that too on a stretch (Shafiq has missed only one test in his entire career and no tests since Sep 2011).

Finally, don't defend him by saying 'Batting at 6 is never easy'. It is one of the (relatively) easiest spots to bat (no spot is easy). Young players are introduced at that position to make them feel secure and easy. Mudassar Nazar once said that as per his experience, batting at 6 is the easiest place to bat.

 

[DRsohail]

ASAD SHAFIQ INCONSISTENCY AND LAK OF RUNS IN LAST 10 tests..

his average is 31 in the last ten tests and if you include recent innings then it becomes..less than thirty..he is very inconsisitent and deserved to be dropped for usman salahuddin...

 

[Abdullah]

Patience wearing thin with him.
Him n azhar need to be averaging 55-60 for rest of their careers to take over the mantle from Misbah n younis.
We invested so much but this guy is a mile of performing to that consistency

 

[shah_1]

Pathetic preformance in last 10 test matches

 

[Major]

yeh yeh bad performance.

But i would let him continue, everyone has a purple patch in their career

 

[Junaids]

He's the Pakistani Ian Bell, and nothing can improve his temperament so this is probably as good as he can get.

It doesn't help that Misbah often bats so slowly that the score is 50-100 less than it should be when he comes in. If you compare with Handscomb or De Villiers you can clearly see the extra pressure that Misbah puts onto numbers 6 and 7.

Numbers 4 and 5 don't need to slog. But they need to move the score on a bit more.

 

[DRsohail]

yeh yeh bad performance.

But i would let him continue, everyone has a purple patch in their career

but he has never been consistent except that england series in UAE ....i have lost hope in this guy...he may average 41 and thats his fc average nothing more..ha has not sorted out his main problem of getting out on the same delivery again and again....and i think u know that..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

I want him to take the spot of Younis at no.4 when he retires... He also has some technical problem... He should put his head down and work hard like Azhar ali.. One century a series will not take him any further, he has been thriving on this for a long time now..

 

[DRsohail]

I want him to take the spot of Younis at no.4 when he retires... He also has some technical problem... He should put his head down and work hard like Azhar ali.. One century a series will not take him any further, he has been thriving on this for a long time now..

but if he continues like this and MISBAH going out he mat lose his spot....number 4 position is key and u cant hide there like he is hiding at 6..

 

[Mir jibran]

high time that sallahudin is given a debut in last test match

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

Bad for his calliber

 

[ask_analyse_act]

but if he continues like this and MISBAH going out he mat lose his spot....

number 4 position is key and u cant hide there like he is hiding at 6..

that is what i want...seniors shouldn't be hiders....hiders can go hide in their home not in the team..

 

[LegbreakGoogly]

He somehow score runs when his position in the team is in danger.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

He somehow score runs when his position in the team is in danger.

yeah thats been his career story thus far

He is the like the student who is quite smart but only cares enough to pass

 

[sshakir411]

He'll get there. I think most our batsmen lack self-esteem. While the fans expect a lot, all our batsmen somehow fail to be go getters.

 

[ShahzadK]

I think He will improve after misbah,younus retire there is no need to drop him.

 

[srh]

Give him next test series at #4, if he fails then drop him.