"Both Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are inspiring cricketers who I look up to" : Abdullah Shafique

[ChTab]

He looks quite a classy player but has a tendency to play stupid shot especially vs spinners.

But he will get better as he gets more experience. Pakistan really need to back him & give him atleast 20 tests just like they did with Babar.

 

[Omer2002]

Defo would have scored big ...and i think it was defo im his mind to hit a 6 to get to his 50 as he has done in his previous innings

 

[Saj]

Shafique holes out to Lyon just 7 balls before Lunch for a well-made 44.

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The shot was on, but he just didn't get to the pitch of it.

All part of the learning curve for him.

But so far, so good.

 

[shamaan]

He did play a stupid shot but he is in experienced and will learn.

 

[PakEngFan]

Is it me or has he opened up his stance?

 

[Mamoon]

Asad Shafiq 2.0

Timid and nervous. His technique is more for show than dough.

 

[ChTab]

Asad Shafiq 2.0

Timid and nervous. His technique is more for show than dough.

Do we have Cook, Shewag, or Hayden in the reserves?

Let him play he has just played 4 test innings. Even if he is able to manage 40 odd average after 20 odd test matches it will be a massive plus for Pakistan because of our awful batters. He & Imam should open for Pakistan in at least the next 15 test matches.

 

[Saj]

He did play a stupid shot but he is in experienced and will learn.

The better players learn from their mistakes and hopefully Abdullah is in that category.

If he doesn't learn then we'll see a lot of 30s and 40s from him.

 

[Mamoon]

Do we have Cook, Shewag, or Hayden in the reserves?

Let him play he has just played 4 test innings. Even if he is able to manage 40 odd average after 20 odd test matches it will be a massive plus for Pakistan because of our awful batters. He & Imam should open for Pakistan in at least the next 15 test matches.

Lack of alternatives doesn’t mean you should hype average players.

Shafique has been hyped as a world class batsman in the making but you cannot become a world class batsman if you always look scared and nervous. He clearly has confidence issues.

People dislike Imam for dumb reasons but he has a higher ceiling than Asad Shafiq 2.0

 

[Afhan Ali]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]
If he becomes a confident player then where you will rank him as a batsman in Pakistan?

 

[Mamoon]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]
If he becomes a confident player then where you will rank him as a batsman in Pakistan?

That’s a big if. Shafiq could have been a very good player but he never developed the mentality. It is hard to do so because you either have it or you don’t. You are born with it.

 

[Afhan Ali]

That’s a big if. Shafiq could have been a very good player but he never developed the mentality. It is hard to do so because you either have it or you don’t. You are born with it.

You are right. But by playing more matches he will use to international cricket and then he may become a confident player.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

After a long time.. a hyped up player from Pakistan has justified his hype.
Looks solid in defence and has decent shots. Should play ODI's as well.
Potential is there to be a future great.

 

[transparent opacity]

First International century for Abdullah.

hopefully the first of many more to come, a promising start to his Intl. career.

Justifying the hype and talent so far.

 

[Titan24]

First Test and international 100 from Abdullah.

Coming in with an experience of just 2 FC matches into international cricket he has done really well at the test level so far. Technique looks really solid (One can hope that he will do well in SENA) and so does his overall temperament which is only going to get better with more matches under his belt.

 

[James]

Asad Shafiq 2.0

Timid and nervous. His technique is more for show than dough.

A bit like an Ian Bell sort of player, incredibly talented on a natural and physical level but sometimes struggles mentally.

 

[realitygaf]

He has more talent than Babar Azam

 

[MenInG]

Abdullah Shafique speaking in presser:

"Scoring my first Test century and that too against Australia is a major confidence booster for me and it's very exciting for me"

"Everyone knows that Australia has a lethal bowling attack so this century against them will give me a lot of confidence"

"Imam and I planned to play our innings in the way a Test innings should be played and so we slowly built a good momentum and we were able to score centuries"

"The game plan for today was to do our best, we are very happy with our performance in this game, Nauman bowled really well and this match was a confidence booster for us which should help us do better in the next game"

 

[Savak]

To early to give much hype or have expectations but he has the potential

 

[tired1]

Do we have Cook, Shewag, or Hayden in the reserves?

Let him play he has just played 4 test innings. Even if he is able to manage 40 odd average after 20 odd test matches it will be a massive plus for Pakistan because of our awful batters. He & Imam should open for Pakistan in at least the next 15 test matches.

He would have said the same thing against Sehwag /Hayden at the start of their careers. Don't pay attention to him.

 

[Saj]

A century early in his Test career against Australia albeit on a flat track is fantastic.

It should boost his confidence and set him up nicely for the remainder of the series and beyond that.

Tougher tests to come away from home but so far so good.

 

[shamaan]

Good Century needs to continue to score runs on these flat pitches

 

[alwiarif46]

What was heartening to see was that fact that in last 3 innings including the last one in Pindi test Abdullah has been coming down the track and hitting the spinner in the air. But during this hundred there wasn't a single instance where he came down the pitch due to the way he had gotten out in the last innings. This speaks a lot about the batsman at this young age. Best of luck Abdullah Shafique

 

[Cric1234]

That’s a big if. Shafiq could have been a very good player but he never developed the mentality. It is hard to do so because you either have it or you don’t. You are born with it.

Asad Shafiq could never become a very good player a timid batsman who struggled to dominate even in favourable conditions.

Technically suspect aswell Azhar Ali has a better defence that’s why he can grind an average above 40 despite a slow strike rate while Asad couldn’t.

Abdullah if he averages close to 30 outside Asia he will have done well at home in favourable conditions he can average higher it’s a mixture of all conditions which will show his career average.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan's latest batting prodigy Abdullah Shafique continues to stamp his mark in international cricket as he equalled the record of most 50+ scores for Pakistan after the first eight Test innings.

Besides Shafique, Umar Akmal is the other batter who scored five 50+ scores in the first eight innings of his Test career

https://cricketpakistan.com.pk/en/n...mar-akmal-to-achieve-this-feat-after-eight-te

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">Abdullah Shafique so far in Tests:<br><br>52<br>73<br>25<br>44<br>136*<br>13<br>96<br>81<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvAUS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1506629047488499713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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[Omer2002]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">Abdullah Shafique so far in Tests:<br><br>52<br>73<br>25<br>44<br>136*<br>13<br>96<br>81<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvAUS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1506629047488499713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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I am sure two of the above were run outs

 

[Kianig89]

Another average player the heir to Azhar Ali

 

[MenInG]

Another average player the heir to Azhar Ali

And your deep analysis is based upon exactly what?

 

[Kianig89]

And your deep analysis is based upon exactly what?

from what i have wasted my 13 days into this torture

 

[MenInG]

from what i have wasted my 13 days into this torture

That is unfair to Abdullah.

His real test will come outside Pakistan but for now he is the best thing to happen to us in this series.

 

[Omer2002]

Absolutely he has been class i have no issues about batting slow the rest can make it up....he is more in the mould of Dravid who was called the wall for a reason and if our opening issues can be sorted so be it.

 

[Kianig89]

That is unfair to Abdullah.

His real test will come outside Pakistan but for now he is the best thing to happen to us in this series.

His real test is tomorrow play a solid innings and shut up the haters

 

[Kianig89]

Absolutely he has been class i have no issues about batting slow the rest can make it up....he is more in the mould of Dravid who was called the wall for a reason and if our opening issues can be sorted so be it.

Have you ever watched Dravid's proper test innings how he use to build his innings and then shift gears and his footwork against spin apart from Akram Dravid had no trouble playing any pacer

 

[MenInG]

Abdullah Shafique falling to Green on Day 5 of the 3rd Test

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[Afhan Ali]

Same dismissal to the Karachi test. I think he will struggle big time in SENA.

 

[PakEngFan]

Playing away from body recipe for disaster. Let’s hope he works on it. He play a lot of balls which he should be leaving for an opener.

 

[waqar goraya]

Abdullah is a good prospect but couple of areas to work on. He needs to work how to handle the balls in the area of good length on fifth-sixth stump against the pacers.In these low slow pitches I don't think any other batsman has struggled so much in this area.
Also some work required to improve his game against spinners.

 

[Saj]

Very impressive so far.

The makings of a successful career if he continues to improve.

 

[MenInG]

The great Rahul Dravid and Kane Williamson are two of the greatest batters of all time, but Babar Azam sees shades of both these legends in one of his Pakistan teammates. All of 20-year-old, the player recently featured in the Test series between Pakistan and Australia, scoring a century and two fifties in the three-match series. Impressed with the youngster's start in Test cricket, which has seen him score 547 runs in five matches, Babar likes what he sees of Abdullah Shafique.

Shafique made his debut in November last year against Bangladesh, scoring twin-fifties (52 and 73) in Chattogram. The right-handed batter really upped his game against Australia, registering scores of 81, 96 and an unbeaten 136 across three Tests in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.

"I personally watch and definitely enjoy Abdullah's stylish batting. He plays very clean, his stance and the way he ducks the ball are impressive. Usually, we compare him to Kane Williamson and Rahul Dravid. We call him Dravid" Babar told Dawn News. "In the presence of Abdullah, the place of opener Shan Masood, another polished batter, may be in doubt but our main aim in selecting an individual is the team's interest."

Pakistan recently announced its squad to face West Indies in a four-match ODI series at home. The Windies haven’t fared too well in limited-overs cricket recently and their problems multiplied when Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket. Under a new captain in Nicholas Pooran, West Indies would be out to prove a point, something Babar is well aware of.

"They play bold cricket and can upset every team on a given day. Therefore, we will try our best to go for big wins in order to earn maximum points to make Pakistan strong for the [50-over] 2023 World Cup. Our first priority is our team; we prefer the best side for each series and that is done while announcing the team for the next series," he added.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...ngster-abdullah-shafique-101653472823025.html

 

[shamaan]

Abdullah will be as good as Babar in tests.

 

[MenInG]

Slowly cementing his place as an opener and should have another good chance in SL.

 

[ChTab]

Hopefully he performs well but on slow SL pitches he will struggle pretty badly.

 

[shamaan]

I think he will need to make sure he starts quite fast so that he doesn't get bogged down when the spinners come on.

 

[MenInG]

A month ago, Pakistan captain Babar Azam had showered huge praise on his 22-year-old teammates, comparing him to the great Rahul Dravid. In fact, Babar had seen shades of both Dravid and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson in the youngster. These are pretty tall claims given the young batter has only featured in five Tests and three T20Is, but when a compliment this huge comes from none other than your captain, it promises to does the talent a world of good.

The batter here is Abdullah Shafique, who had made his debut for Pakistan in November last year against Bangladesh. After scoring twin fifties on his Test debut, Shafique took his batting a notch higher during the home series against Australia, where he registered scores of 81, 96 and 136 across the three matches in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. This is what Babar had to say about Shafique.

"I personally watch and definitely enjoy Abdullah's stylish batting. He plays very clean, his stance and the way he ducks the ball are impressive. Usually, we compare him to Kane Williamson and Rahul Dravid. We call him Dravid" Babar had told Dawn News. "In the presence of Abdullah, the place of opener Shan Masood, another polished batter, may be in doubt but our main aim in selecting an individual is the team's interest."

Now, in reply to Babar's compliment, Shafique has said that although Dravid is an all-time great, he has actually been an admirer of Babar himself, Pakistan great Mohammad Yousuf and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting. "I am honoured that Babar compared me with Rahul Dravid. But I used to follow Ricky Ponting a lot. After Babar and Yousaf Bhai, I followed him," he told a news source.

Shafique looked back on the recently-concluded series against West Indies at home. Although he did not get to feature in the Playing XI, the 22-year-old has taken aplenty watching the proceedings from the sidelines. "I didn't get a chance to play but it was good being around the players who were playing. I will try to grab any opportunity that comes to me in the upcoming Sri Lanka Test tour," he said.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...-to-follow-ricky-ponting-101656416160434.html

 

[MenInG]

Needs to cement his place as an opener in this series vs SL

 

[MenInG]

Impressive from Shafique - great attitude shown.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Heck of a talent. He stepped up against Australia in Karachi and now he is nearing in on a possibly historic fourth innings century. Even the greats of the game have a handful of fourth innings centuries to their name. And out of those only a select few have managed to hit match-winning fourth innings centuries.

Here's hoping he stays at the crease for as long as possible. The job is far from done.

 

[silentkiller187]

Very well played knock so far, lets see if he has the mentality and mindset which has been questioned before, to take Pakistan home.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

He has broken Javed Miandad's record for most runs after 6 matches (652 runs) too.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Has looked like a very natural batter since his test debut. Gets a lot of time to get behind the ball . Hopefully he will continue to rise.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

He has broken Javed Miandad's record for most runs after 6 matches (652 runs) too.

Masha'Allah.

Abdullah is batting like a 80 tests old veteran! wow!

 

[silentkiller187]

2nd Test hundred for Shafique, has been an innings of immense patience, lifts his helmet and soaks in the applause, gets a hug from his captain and then does the sajda. Brilliant start to his test career, long may this from continue.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Well done kid. Brilliant century. An innings of patience and pure application. You've got a bright future ahead of you. Hope you live up to all the promise.

 

[Titan24]

Top knock. Has already broken Miandad's record of most runs after 6 test matches.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What a brilliant start to Abdullah Shafique's Test career:<br><br>Innings 11<br>Hundreds 2<br>Fifties 4<br>Current average 73<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SLvPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SLvPAK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/1EPandYzWd">pic.twitter.com/1EPandYzWd</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1549345532254060554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
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[gazza619]

Bad day at the office for some posters

 

[MenInG]

Bad day at the office for some posters

Shafique has really impressed me - seems like a good student of the game

 

[gazza619]

Shafique has really impressed me - seems like a good student of the game

He is indeed. A rare Pakistani young opener who is consistent.

 

[ethan hunt]

Abdullah Shafiq must be backed and developed like Babar Azam.
Should get a longer rope than others. Quality.

 

[Third Man]

Very well played knock so far, lets see if he has the mentality and mindset which has been questioned before, to take Pakistan home.

Why would someone question that with only 6 tests under his belt. And who has questioned that? Some armchair experts on PP? Abdullah is the best young batting talent in Pakistan and one of the best in the world. Anyone who doesn't see that doesn't understand cricket.

He shouldn't have to take Pakistan home. There are 6 other batsmen as well.

 

[Bewal Express]

Shafique has really impressed me - seems like a good student of the game

Looks calm at the crease,has made a great start to his career. Greater tests remain on bouncier wickets and loss of form and confidence will happen, as they happen to all players, but he looks like a player for the long haul.

 

[silentkiller187]

Why would someone question that with only 6 tests under his belt. And who has questioned that? Some armchair experts on PP? Abdullah is the best young batting talent in Pakistan and one of the best in the world. Anyone who doesn't see that doesn't understand cricket.

He shouldn't have to take Pakistan home. There are 6 other batsmen as well.

One read of this thread an you will see what i mean when i say his mentality and mindset has been questioned.

And as an opener his primary job should be to see his team home or ensure they are as close to home before he loses his wicket. Not to mention the form of our 6 other batsmen, you should be able to understand why i wouldn't want him to throw away his wicket and take us home.

 

[MenInG]

Following a magnificent century, while chasing a huge target of 342 runs, Abdullah Shafique has cemented his position in the record books.

The opening batsman has overtaken legendary batter Javed Miandad for most runs scored in the first six Test matches.

Unbeaten on 112 on Day 4 Stumps, Shafique has the chance to further extend the space between himself and Miandad.

In the first six Test matches, Miandad held the record with 652 runs. Shafique on the other hand has already accumulated 672 runs, with a chance to pile on more runs on Day 5.

CricketPakistan

 

[MenInG]

Speaking after end of Day 4 in the 1st Test vs Sri Lanka

"We had one plan in mind which was to go after Jayasuriya as he had done very well in the first innings"

"We felt that if we could get figure out how to play him, we will do well against him"

"I created some scoring options against him and we had to rotate strike against him and give ourselves the best chance to play well against him"

"The main plan was to go for the run-chase but we had to devise proper strategies for that and not go in the chase without thinking about it too much"

"We tried to live in the present moment and looked at how to get to smaller targets because thinking of 100+ runs in a go appears o be difficult; So we partitioned these targets and that made things easier for us"

"When Babar was there he wasn't advising me too much on how to play but watching him get out was not a good thing for me but I knew then that there was a responsibility on me to play well and not lose another wicket until end of Day"

"This is a special hundred for me and I also have to bat tomorrow but I will try my best to help my side win"

 

[ChTab]

Really impressive innings by Abdullah. He needs to be in ODI setup ASAP(maybe in place of Fakhar). His real test will be in SENA countries but so far he has passed all his assignments. Hopefully he will not end up like Yasir Hameed etc

 

[Sherlock]

Look he's just starting his fledgling career, so it's inevitable he's going to go through a poor patch and a purple patch, but from I've seen him in Tests he's really grinding down for the side.

One thing missing from his 2 hundreds (not out atm aswell) is a big century. He needs to knuckle down tomorrow and start all over again.

Either way he's been exceptional whenever he's opened and hopefully we can see carry his bat as long as possible tomorrow.

 

[James]

Pakistani batters with most runs after 11 Test innings:

Abdullah Shafique 672
Javed Miandad 654
Saeed Ahmed 619
Saeed Anwar 607

 

[shamaan]

High quality knock job is only half done.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Soon enough kids will be looking up to Abdullah shafique!

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fantastic level of maturity and responsibility shown by Abdullah Shafique. Batting as if he has been playing Test cricket for many years and not just playing his 6th Test match <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SLvsPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SLvsPAK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1549644321195950082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
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[gazza619]

CTRL F “Mamoon”….

Not found.

 

[TheSultan]

He’s done very well, but needs to see this through.

The other thing I’d like to see from him is change gears and become more dominant as the innings goes on. His S/R has slowed from 50 to 38 during this innings. It is understandable in a way because the ball is spinning and this is a 4th innings. He has everything going for him ability wise. However, he has to become more dominant as a batsman and break out of this misball mentality.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Only 30 runs in the boundaries from 139 so far. He has worked real hard on his century.

 

[MenInG]

Full list of cricketers to face 400+ deliveries in the fourth innings of a Test match:

Mike Atherton
Herbert Sutcliffe
Sunil Gavaskar
Babar Azam
ABDULLAH SHAFIQUE

 

[pillionrider]

Full list of cricketers to face 400+ deliveries in the fourth innings of a Test match:

Mike Atherton
Herbert Sutcliffe
Sunil Gavaskar
Babar Azam
ABDULLAH SHAFIQUE

Interesting to see that Pakistani batsmen have faced more than 500 balls 5 times in history - Younis Khan twice

India has just one. Our bowling features 8 times though vs Pakistan's 4. Take that

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Babar, Kohli and the FAB-4 or as a matter of fact any batsman ever would be proud of this gem of an innings played by Abdullah in Galle.

What a start to a promising career.

 

[Rana]

Asad Shafiq 2.0

Timid and nervous. His technique is more for show than dough.

Remind me about the last time Asad Shafique saw us home in a run chase?

 

[Ahmed216]

Great to see abdullah improve so quickly against left arm spin that's been troubling him

 

[Savak]

When Mamoon ruthlessly hates a player ie "his technique is more for show than dough" , you know that the player is going to be a special player for Pakistan.