What's new

Asad Shafiq's worrying numbers

S

Saj

PakPassion Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 1, 2001
Runs
96,141
Looking at Asad's numbers.

His Test batting average in October 2016 stood at 43.84. 2 years later it's now standing at 39.15. That's quite a drop - 4.69 in the space of just over 2 years.

He has only 1 Test century in nearly 2 years which was against Sri Lanka in UAE.

In his last 26 Test innings he has made 50 or more only 5 times.

In his last 9 Test innings he has made one 50.

He averages 45.38 in Tests in UAE, but averages 34.86 in Tests away from UAE.

What's going wrong?

Is he done?

Time to move on from him?

Is he too good to drop?
 
Last edited:
Saj said:
Looking at Asad's numbers.

His Test batting average in October 2016 stood at 43.84. 2 years later it's now standing at 39.15. That's quite a drop - 3.69 in the space of just over 2 years.

He has only 1 Test century in nearly 2 years which was against Sri Lanka in UAE.

In his last 26 Test innings he has made 50 or more only 5 times.

What's going wrong?

Is he done?

Time to move on from him?

Is he too good to drop?
Click to expand...

Last chance should be 3rd test,no need for these mental midgets who perform only once in 2 years.
 
He is batting at the safest spot in the team.. historically the senior most hatamen have bettes in the middle to boost their averages and he has failed to take advantage of his situation..
 
Well, he did hit that cake eating century away to Australia so perhaps there's expectations he'll do it again - likely in a meaningless or losing cause.
 
My biggest worry is that Asad Shafiq will score a 50 or even a 100 in the 2nd innings of the 3rd test against NZ and book his place for the next 2 years.

Not sure why his performances have dropped so drastically. Considering he is not part of limited overs set up it is time to invest in someone else.
 
he was never that great to begin with, and has regressed in his 30's

he doesn't get as much criticism as he should. as big a burden as Hafeez in the batting line up
 
Really disappointed with his technical and mental batting development- failed to become the number 4 that the team needed, bottled it against Wagner just before lunch in the 1st test and the description that he is a mental midget is accurate.
 
biggest wasted investment in pak set up, to think after nearly 60 tests hes still hiding in the lower middle order. more than half of his centuries have come in non winning causes, lacks the concentration to hit big hundreds.

average of thirty in his last twenty tests is abysmal, to top it off he dropped catches in this test too. time to go, saad ali deserves a shot in the third test.
 
Lol, wait till you see Azhar's numbers in the last one year.
 
Mediocre as hell. Lots of useless runs in that average of 39.Worst batsmen from a while to play 70 tests.
 
Turned out to be a horrible investment in both Tests and ODIs.
 
The Pakistani Ian Bell who was once heralded as the next Michael Atherton just like Yousaf massively backed Asad Shafiq, looks great to the eyes but that's about it.
 
The guy may have run his race but I would think this is the player that produces a world class knock in difficult conditions against quality bowling attacks. He will score a fantastic hundred in SA but Pakistan more than likely will lose that game. His hundred will make great viewing on YouTube though for decades to come
 
The protected culture in senior cricket means players like shafiq, hafeez, azhar can be as mediocre ad they want and they wont be dropped.
 
He definitely needs a wake up call and I’d be inclined to drop him from the next test Unfortunatetly he’s had it too cosy for along time now

You can’t have those numbers and still be backed The fact he also bats at 5 makes those numbers even more weak
 
He hasn't been doing bad enough to be dropped, story of his career. Most likely in the next game, he'll get a decent score in 1 or both innings.
 
He should be fortunate, that he batted at no. 6 for so long because he would have been out of the side much earlier and with a much worse average.

Couldn't even average above 40 in FC, so don't expect him to average 50 or something because that is way, way, way out of his league!
 
Threads like these are always made and he is still retained for the next series.

Don't think he has done to bad to be dropped.
 
Averages under 40 as a middle order bat. That's pretty poor. And really looks out of place any time he's promoted above 6, when 6 is usually the spot given to new batsmen to bat with less pressure. Averaged 35 for 3 years now, and yet has pretty much never been dropped since he was first picked. I don't recall a period where he ever felt standout (unlike Azhar) just enough so he wouldn't be dropped. We need our middle order batsmen to score big, and it looks like Babar and Haris in their few games now look like better middle order bats. Even Hafeez was dropped and mostly batted as an opener.

We couldn't drop him since the retirement of YK and Misbah, but if Haris and Babar are stepping up to the plate, why not drop Asad and try out another middle order bat?

I don't know what's wrong with him. He looks great at the crease, more technically balanced than the other seniors. Throws his wicket away consistently, and fails under pressure.

He really feels like our Ian Bell sadly. It's pretty much all the same excuses.
 
Savak said:
The Pakistani Ian Bell who was once heralded as the next Michael Atherton just like Yousaf massively backed Asad Shafiq, looks great to the eyes but that's about it.
Click to expand...

very harsh on ian bell, by the time he had played 65 tests bell averaged 48 and had 3 more hundreds and 7 more fifties.

bells career waned hard at the end, but he would never have gotten that far with asad shafiq like stats.
 
We have Misbah to thank for with such a poor choice of investment with his backing as a long term prospect. He's a spineless batsman who simply can't lead from the front.

The South Africa away series should be his last even if he has his best series ever. He'll be 33 (on paper) in January, so it is time to move on because he isn't going to get better.

It is inexcusable to average sub-40 when you play your home matches on the flattest decks in the planet.
 
The amount of runs he is scoring.. it will be better to play Amir Yamin in his place for SA tests
 
Even Faheem Ashraf would do a better job than Asad in batting, and his bowling alone justifies a spot for him in the team for SA tour
 
You have to take him to South Africa because he is the only guy who has made a century there against Steyn and Philander.

But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

Batsmen retire at Azhar Ali’s age. Alastair Cook did, AB De Villiers did, Michael Clarke did, Graeme Smith did.

95% of batsmen get worse after the age of 32.

70% get worse after the age of 30.

They lose their hand/eye coordination and reflexes. Sometimes they can cope in the UAE, but on the last tour of Australia Misbah scored a third less runs than Mohammad Amir!

One batsman can be carried over the age of 32 if he is consistently scoring 50 in at least 1/3 of his innings.

That would be Azhar Ali - except he is failing to reach the benchmark either.

Shafiq goes to South Africa on past record because no potential replacement has experience in those conditions.

If he fails, that has to be the end.
 
topspin said:
We have Misbah to thank for with such a poor choice of investment with his backing as a long term prospect. He's a spineless batsman who simply can't lead from the front.

The South Africa away series should be his last even if he has his best series ever. He'll be 33 (on paper) in January, so it is time to move on because he isn't going to get better.

It is inexcusable to average sub-40 when you play your home matches on the flattest decks in the planet.
Click to expand...

Amidst all the good posts, this Misbah bashing is one thing that doesn't suit you. But oh well people have their own opinions.

Otherwise a good quality poster.
 
Savak said:
The Pakistani Ian Bell who was once heralded as the next Michael Atherton just like Yousaf massively backed Asad Shafiq, looks great to the eyes but that's about it.
Click to expand...

Why on earth would somebody want to become the next Michael Atherton?
 
He is best friends with Sarfraz, both were school friends, and Mickey doesn't have the huevos to pull the trigger and even talk about dropping him.

Mickey gave up on opposing selections the moment Hafeez walked back in like the crown prince he is, despite Mick saying he won't be part of WC plans or any future plans. He realized this is PCB and Pakistan, friendship goes a long way.

Now he takes his cheque and just plays cheerleader role.
 
wrong investment.
he was never that good to justify his place.
instead we should have gave long rope to fawad alam.
he is going to hunt long time.
 
Asad and azhar have a combined average of 32.27 in last two years with 3 hundreds and 10 50s to show in the last 2 years ( 13 test matches). Are they really irreplaceable?
 
he the luckiest batsman in our history. Shoud have gotten the boot many years back.

investing in home over Fawad was the worst mistake ever
 
Azhar seems to be getting out of his bad patch with 3 fifties in his last 4 innings.

Shafiq meanwhile has always been supremely inconsistent
 
In comparison combined average of haris sohail and babar azam in the last two years is 39 (3 hundred ,8 50s). Babar averages 36.55 and haris 42.
 
Junaids said:
You have to take him to South Africa because he is the only guy who has made a century there against Steyn and Philander.

But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

Batsmen retire at Azhar Ali’s age. Alastair Cook did, AB De Villiers did, Michael Clarke did, Graeme Smith did.

95% of batsmen get worse after the age of 32.

70% get worse after the age of 30.

They lose their hand/eye coordination and reflexes. Sometimes they can cope in the UAE, but on the last tour of Australia Misbah scored a third less runs than Mohammad Amir!

One batsman can be carried over the age of 32 if he is consistently scoring 50 in at least 1/3 of his innings.

That would be Azhar Ali - except he is failing to reach the benchmark either.

Shafiq goes to South Africa on past record because no potential replacement has experience in those conditions.

If he fails, that has to be the end.
Click to expand...

Agree with u. SA your has to be it if he fails. Ideally need him batting at six and playing positively on that tour.
It would be unfair to throw in somebody else for the first time there
 
aukhan said:
A 50 or 100 will save his career again...just wait and watch.
Click to expand...

Look mate, we will take whatever we get as this series Vs NZ should be OVER and it's not, I will take whatever it takes to win this series.
He ain't getting dropped before SA anyway
 
Asad was never a world class player. I have noticed that he most of the times score in a meaningless situation.He got the privilege to play many tests in.UAE. On that wicket many mediocre subcontinent players would have scored like him. His inclusion deprived Pakistan from the service of one of the best batsman around,Fawad Alam. No, Inji won't drop him. Even if he is dropped he will come back again to take his average to below 35. He is another Hafeez in Pak cricket, nontouchable.
 
Until you are 30 you are, like Babar Azam or Steve Waugh, a long-term investment who can be allowed a few failures.

Picking too many players over 30 leads to Misbah Plus Younis style joint retirements destabilising the team. It even made Pakistan lose to Sri Lanka, which wasn’t even one of the top fifty teams in world cricket.

Veterans like Shafiq or Azhar can only be allowed to take up a maximum of one place in the team.

And it needs to be explicit for veterans: fail to reach fifty in at least 2 innings out of 6 in any given series and you will be immediately retired forever.

Pakistan has become an ever more conservative society in which seniors are for some reason treated with deference.

But in cricket it must always be the other way round. If you are a senior, you are a series-by-series proposition. One bad series and you’re gone forever.
 
Hawkeye said:
Amidst all the good posts, this Misbah bashing is one thing that doesn't suit you. But oh well people have their own opinions.

Otherwise a good quality poster.
Click to expand...

Thanks and I share the same regard for you as a poster even though we don't agree on Misbah.

We can agree to disagree on Misbah but at least you can acknowledge it wasn't the right call from him giving him such an extensive backing over more deserving players such as Fawad Alam and an Umar Akmal (at the time) who had performed commendably after his first leg of overseas tours averaging 35-40 at 60-70 SR.

I should also add Waqar Younis and the ex-player lobby pressure (from Shoaib Akhtar and MoYo) also played their part keeping him retained in the playing XI.
 
topspin said:
Thanks and I share the same regard for you as a poster even though we don't agree on Misbah.

We can agree to disagree on Misbah but at least you can acknowledge it wasn't the right call from him giving him such an extensive backing over more deserving players such as Fawad Alam and an Umar Akmal (at the time) who had performed commendably after his first leg of overseas tours averaging 35-40 at 60-70 SR.

I should also add Waqar Younis and the ex-player lobby pressure (from Shoaib Akhtar and MoYo) also played their part keeping him retained in the playing XI.
Click to expand...

Asad at that time was averaging high enough, with the most number of centuries by any player at #6.

I was not convinced with him even at that time, most posters here used to support him and bashed me in the Asad the failure thread.

Of course he was a wrong investment, but was paying off at that time. Scored a ton in SA as well.
 
Saj said:
Looking at Asad's numbers.

His Test batting average in October 2016 stood at 43.84. 2 years later it's now standing at 39.15. That's quite a drop - 4.69 in the space of just over 2 years.

He has only 1 Test century in nearly 2 years which was against Sri Lanka in UAE.

In his last 26 Test innings he has made 50 or more only 5 times.

In his last 9 Test innings he has made one 50.

He averages 45.38 in Tests in UAE, but averages 34.86 in Tests away from UAE.

What's going wrong?

Is he done?

Time to move on from him?

Is he too good to drop?
Click to expand...

PCT wasted 8 years for this guy, whole career has been full pf mediocrity filled with very few flashes of brilliance, which most of the times haven't done any good for the team.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Some good news for Shafiq as he has moved +2 in ICC's Rankings for Test batsmen - he is now joint 21st with Mushfiqur Rahim
 
suleiman said:
he is best friends with sarfraz, both were school friends, and mickey doesn't have the huevos to pull the trigger and even talk about dropping him.

Mickey gave up on opposing selections the moment hafeez walked back in like the crown prince he is, despite mick saying he won't be part of wc plans or any future plans. He realized this is pcb and pakistan, friendship goes a long way.

Now he takes his cheque and just plays cheerleader role.
Click to expand...

can,t be explained better.
 
MenInG said:
Some good news for Shafiq as he has moved +2 in ICC's Rankings for Test batsmen - he is now joint 21st with Mushfiqur Rahim
Click to expand...

Which is very poor for someone who was regarded as a world-class player by some.
 
He was never good enough. He will be strictly mediocre even when he plays his best cricket.

Time to move on.
 
Sad days for Shafiq and Azhar. They were expected to carry the team after Misbah and Younis retired but instead newcomers are the ones carrying the team at the moment. Azhar and Shafiq have greatly regressed as batsmen.
 
Was never good enough to start with.

Fawad, Haris, Usman, Naved Yasin and Umar all were above him in the pecking order at that time.

He got lucky because he was the acha bacha Misbah needed.
 
Junaids said:
Until you are 30 you are, like Babar Azam or Steve Waugh, a long-term investment who can be allowed a few failures.

Picking too many players over 30 leads to Misbah Plus Younis style joint retirements destabilising the team. It even made Pakistan lose to Sri Lanka, which wasn’t even one of the top fifty teams in world cricket.

Veterans like Shafiq or Azhar can only be allowed to take up a maximum of one place in the team.

And it needs to be explicit for veterans: fail to reach fifty in at least 2 innings out of 6 in any given series and you will be immediately retired forever.

Pakistan has become an ever more conservative society in which seniors are for some reason treated with deference.

But in cricket it must always be the other way round. If you are a senior, you are a series-by-series proposition. One bad series and you’re gone forever.
Click to expand...

You are point on veterans being only allowed one place is spot on. What you forgot is that it is not just Azahr and Asad on veteran list but Hafeez too.
 
Both Asad and Hafeez should be made to feel some competition better to bring in fakhar and a good youngster like Saud or Saad for Asad / Hafeez to feel the heat and wake up!! Establishing competition worked immensely well in fast bowling department for Pak. You have lots of choice there. Similarly batting and spin bowling should have competition!!
 
He got to bat higher. After playing 70 matches, he should bat higher and control the game. It's difficult to make consistent impact when you bat as low as he does.
 
happydavy said:
He got to bat higher. After playing 70 matches, he should bat higher and control the game. It's difficult to make consistent impact when you bat as low as he does.
Click to expand...
Number 5 is high enough to show ones metal
 
Like I mentioned in another thread his average was only inflated during that late 2014-15 period in which Pakistan played all their tests in Asia, and at the time YK and Misbah were in sublime form so he had it easy coming and scoring runs in no pressure. Pre and Post his little 15/16 month golden period he averages in the mid 30's.

He is the first batsman that needs to be dropped from the squad almost a decade of playing test cricket and he is yet to win a single test match for us.
 
JibranAnsari said:
Asad and azhar have a combined average of 32.27 in last two years with 3 hundreds and 10 50s to show in the last 2 years ( 13 test matches). Are they really irreplaceable?
Click to expand...

Wow, what a stat. This really isn’t good enough from our 2 most experienced test batsmen. They’ve failed miserably to replace Misbah & Younus and desperately need to take a long, hard look at themselves. A combined average of 32 is horrendous. I genuinely think it’s time we moved on and gave saad and Usman a chance to cement their place in the line up.
 
srh said:
they will never be ready if they never play genius
Click to expand...

What do u want them to debut against south Africa straight away.. And what the garauntee they will perform better then shafiq. And its not that shafiq is not a good player.. He has performed everywhere its just that he is not in form these days.
I m not against domestic performers getting a chance. but this is not the time
 
maybe he was never that good in the first place


i have argued this to death, but it was wrong by any measure to drop umar for asad back 2011/12, that to after one fluke dismissal. What umar has done afterr that is all on him, but it doesnt change the fact we invested wrongly at the time
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
maybe he was never that good in the first place


i have argued this to death, but it was wrong by any measure to drop umar for asad back 2011/12, that to after one fluke dismissal. What umar has done afterr that is all on him, but it doesnt change the fact we invested wrongly at the time
Click to expand...

Interesting point about Umar Akmal. I wonder how he would have done in the test team all these years. May be being part of the test team would have created some maturity in him?
 
Saj said:
Looking at Asad's numbers.

His Test batting average in October 2016 stood at 43.84. 2 years later it's now standing at 39.15. That's quite a drop - 4.69 in the space of just over 2 years.

He has only 1 Test century in nearly 2 years which was against Sri Lanka in UAE.

In his last 26 Test innings he has made 50 or more only 5 times.

In his last 9 Test innings he has made one 50.

He averages 45.38 in Tests in UAE, but averages 34.86 in Tests away from UAE.

What's going wrong?

Is he done?

Time to move on from him?

Is he too good to drop?
Click to expand...

Admittedly those are worrying numbers, and it is disappointing that he has not been able to adjust to batting up the order. However, what cannot be denied is that he has been one of our best, and statistically, one of the best batsmen at number 6.

It is crazy how such an accomplished batsmen can struggle when he is required to bat away from a favoured batting position, but he is not the only batsman that has suffered this fate, and not likely to be the last either.

Either way, its worth recalling that as a number 6 he managed 6 centuries at that position. During a period between 2014 and 2016 he averaged over 53 and scored more runs batting at number 6 than any batsmen.

Like many Pakistani fans out there, we have been waiting for Babar to arrive, and although he scored his first test century in the last game, he has looked a much improved and assured presence in the crease since the tour of England. He has also shown in the white ball format that he has no qualms batting higher up the order, so I would propose that we make a slight tweak to the batting line up and swap Babar with Asad at numbers 5 and 6 respectively.

A functioning middle order of Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam and Asad Shafiq could be well worth persisting. Especially if we can also get Fakhar Zaman back at the top of the order.
 
gazza619 said:
Interesting point about Umar Akmal. I wonder how he would have done in the test team all these years. May be being part of the test team would have created some maturity in him?
Click to expand...

They played together in the series in WI during that season (due to an injury to yk I believe)

Asad failed miserably while Umar did decent especially compared to everyone else.

Next test series is against Zimbabwe. Umar plays one innngs amd makes 15 runs. He got out because he smashed a short ball but it hit short leg and somehow looped up perfectly into the air. That’s the last we saw of him in tests.

Compare that too Asad who is given every possible chance to stake a claim and then some. Honesty misbah always wanted Asad and just was looking for an excuse to drop Umar. Again this doesn’t excuse the lunacy of Umar’s career since, but at the time he was far from a failure.
 
Last edited:
pakistanigoneaussie said:
They played together in the series in WI during that season (due to an injury to yk I believe)

Asad failed miserably while Umar did decent especially compared to everyone else.

Next test series is against Zimbabwe. Umar plays one innngs amd makes 15 runs. He got out because he smashed a short ball but it hit short leg and somehow looped up perfectly into the air. That’s the last we saw of him in tests.

Compare that too Asad who is given every possible chance to stake a claim and then some. Honesty misbah always wanted Asad and just was looking for an excuse to drop Umar. Again this doesn’t excuse the lunacy of Umar’s career since, but at the time he was far from a failure.
Click to expand...

You can thank Mohsin Khan the then CS and the coach Waqar at the time. Both said they were dropping Akmal from the test team to teach him a lesson and to force him to curtail his shots. Since then in the last 7 years, not once has he been remotely considered for a spot again. He probably gave up on improving his skill set after that knowing he won't play a test match for Pakistan again
 
You cannot have a #5 batsman averaging less than 40. The #5 batsman has an ideal spot to score runs as the shine will have come off the new ball. When you look at our #5 batsmen over the years from Inzamam, Misbah, Yousuf, Abbas and Miandad - they all had consistency and could convert their starts into bigger knocks.

With Asad Shafiq you'll get maybe one good innings per series, doing the bare minimum for selection, followed by a string of soft dismissals, eye-pleasing but impactless 30 and 40s and failures.

However we're probably wasting our time given he's the VC and always had a strong media lobby. Nearly all our ex-players rave about how good his technique is which is more myth than reality. He's been the golden boy of the Pakistani cricket establishment for years hence repeated ODI callups again and again, and never been dropped once from the Test team in all these years.
 
Saj said:
Looking at Asad's numbers.

His Test batting average in October 2016 stood at 43.84. 2 years later it's now standing at 39.15. That's quite a drop - 4.69 in the space of just over 2 years.

He has only 1 Test century in nearly 2 years which was against Sri Lanka in UAE.

In his last 26 Test innings he has made 50 or more only 5 times.

In his last 9 Test innings he has made one 50.

He averages 45.38 in Tests in UAE, but averages 34.86 in Tests away from UAE.

What's going wrong?

Is he done?

Time to move on from him?

Is he too good to drop?
Click to expand...

Let's work out what's wrong looks like he's not good enough and after the SA he'll have played almost 70 tests at an average of 38 which is quite something.
 
Cric1234 said:
Let's work out what's wrong looks like he's not good enough and after the SA he'll have played almost 70 tests at an average of 38 which is quite something.
Click to expand...

I guess the question that should be asked is, was he ever good enough or have the selectors backed the wrong horse all these years?
 
Savak said:
You can thank Mohsin Khan the then CS and the coach Waqar at the time. Both said they were dropping Akmal from the test team to teach him a lesson and to force him to curtail his shots. Since then in the last 7 years, not once has he been remotely considered for a spot again. He probably gave up on improving his skill set after that knowing he won't play a test match for Pakistan again
Click to expand...


At the time it made no sense, I have said repeatedly that since it’s been Akmal’s fault, but there was a clear double standard. Smashing a long hop is not being reckless, it’s just flukey that it hits a body taking evasive action and loops into the air instead of failing to the group strait away.

That isn’t grounds to exile someone when they have been doing well relative to others and when his replacement both before and after got every chance imaginable
 
Shafiq has always been given preferential treatment.

He managed to play 60 ODIs. Averages 24 with s/r of 67.50. Those numbers never got better throughout those 60 ODIs.

It's insane how many chances he was given.

Now in tests he hasn't stepped up either.
 
Saj said:
I guess the question that should be asked is, was he ever good enough or have the selectors backed the wrong horse all these years?
Click to expand...

Saj he was never good enough because mentally he is one of the weakest players I've ever seen play in a Pakistan shirt, if not the weakest.

We have Misbah, Waqar, Mohsin Khan and ex-player lobby to thank for because they were so adamant that Shafiq was the future of Pakistan cricket ready to be Younis Khan's "successor".
 
Saj said:
I guess the question that should be asked is, was he ever good enough or have the selectors backed the wrong horse all these years?
Click to expand...

Sir you think anyone have capability to drop him for saad ali and saud shakeel,

Hope these two not wasted like fawad.
 
Story of Shafiq's career.

1 good innings per series. He will remain average by international standards...azhar with limited ability but strong grit has always been a better investment. :14:
 
Lots and lots of Pakistanis have played like this, performing after failing for the entire series. But Shaqif might have perfected this
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Pakistani Pace
Say What You Want, But Babar Azam Is Still Pakistan’s Most Gifted Batsman
Replies
34
Views
511
starpain
S
Devadwal
Are Sam Konstas and Jake Fraser-McGurk most overhyped Australian players of recent time?
Replies
33
Views
959
Ice Man
I
Cricket Warrior
Former Indian cricketer Dilip Doshi passes away at 77
Replies
6
Views
443
Cryin Out Loud
C
Mamoon
The Jasprit Bumrah workload myth: Is opting out of the 2nd Test against England justified?
8 9 10
Replies
740
Views
23K
DeadlyVenom
D
Ball Blazer
Afghanistan tour of Zimbabwe (2025)
Replies
0
Views
61
Ball Blazer
Ball Blazer
Back
Top