"I don’t have to justify my performance to anyone" : Asad Shafiq responds to criticism

[Shoaibbtt]

During Bangladesh series, Rashid Latif was criticising PCB selectors for dropping Asad Shafiq.

Still laughed when they called his drop a “political drop”

 

[ElRaja]

Whats his fc returns been since hes been dropped?

1200 runs at 46, 2 hundreds in 19 fc games. hes an okay domestic player, but even at that level his limitations are obvious, his conversion ratio is terrible.

 

[Savak]

Someone who has played 70 test matches should be bossing domestic charts. I think the hierarchy has decided that his time is over. Misbah is the one who selected him, gave him a long rope and eventually decided he made a mistake in the end backing him all this while

 

[pratiktc]

Let's not judge him too harshly
He was an ok player for Pak and if he can spend last few yrs of his career guiding some young batsmen in domestic it will be great for Pak

 

[The_KING]

One of the most meek and chicken hearted player ever. Glad he is no longer part of the international team.

 

[TeamPak95]

In his peak, Shafiq was a mid-40s averaging player and imo was an underrated batsman for a period of time. Not a bad player but not a great one either.

 

[Firebat]

Asad Shafiq last 4 scores for Balochistan in Pakistan Cup:

104*
9*
101*
76*

 

[hitthestump]

Asad Shafiq last 4 scores for Balochistan in Pakistan Cup:

104*
9*
101*
76*

Too little, too late. Nobody misses him, and any domestic bullying now would just be too overdue.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Should’ve been made the captain instead of Azhar Ali, who was a disaster.

Asad was personally a great, honest and hardworking guy who had a very good n smart cricketing brain.


Technically, and performance wise, he didn’t impress, but who else did? All were mediocre players.

Making Azhar captain after Misbah was a huge huge mistake. Azhar never was a captaincy material.

 

[Loralai]

Average player who almost always flopped when the chips were down.

He and Azhar should have stepped up after Younis Khan retired. Instead both of them showed that they were only able to make soft runs and nothing else

 

[Zaz]

Asad Shafiq last 4 scores for Balochistan in Pakistan Cup:

104*
9*
101*
76*

Good for him but like a poster said its too little too late

He really shouldve stepped up in batting position and responsibility 5 years back

He ll be remembered as someone who had a avge career in the end, someone who coasted along and didnt step up outside his comfort zone and when the team needed him

 

[DRsohail]

Should’ve been made the captain instead of Azhar Ali, who was a disaster.

Asad was personally a great, honest and hardworking guy who had a very good n smart cricketing brain.


Technically, and performance wise, he didn’t impress, but who else did? All were mediocre players.

Making Azhar captain after Misbah was a huge huge mistake. Azhar never was a captaincy material.

Oh really, he was smart??

 

[Barragan]

A nothing player.

Complete waste of the 10 years invested in him, which should have been gone to Fawad.

 

[Markhor]

A nothing player.

Complete waste of the 10 years invested in him, which should have been gone to Fawad.

This. Despite the criticism Azhar gets for playing past his prime, including by myself, I think he was a worthwhile investment as when he debuted in 2010 we were crying out for a solid #3 who could just occupy the crease in a lineup of flimsy strokemakers.

Shafiq on the other hand has been a totally pointless investment. Barely a handful of meaningful Test knocks after 10 years.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Oh really, he was smart??

Cricketing brain wise? Yes indeed. Not only smart but extremely well composed.

He would speak in well measured sentences, and had quite a mature mindset. He never shoot from the hip.

I had the chance to meet with him on a personal level a few times and still have a good common friend. And I can vouch for him without an iota of hesitance.

And as I stated earlier, skill and performance wise, he wasn't much better than anyone else in the squad at that time. However, he was the best captaincy candidate; but PCB's Think Tank had it's head stuck in Azhar Ali's rear end.

 

[DRsohail]

Cricketing brain wise? Yes indeed. Not only smart but extremely well composed.

He would speak in well measured sentences, and had quite a mature mindset. He never shoot from the hip.

I had the chance to meet with him on a personal level a few times and still have a good common friend. And I can vouch for him without an iota of hesitance.

And as I stated earlier, skill and performance wise, he wasn't much better than anyone else in the squad at that time. However, he was the best captaincy candidate; but PCB's Think Tank had it's head stuck in Azhar Ali's rear end.

Anyone would have done better job than Azhar Ali yes, but I think the guy's was not smart enough, and he never rose on ocassion when needed which show that he was mentally weak..

 

[Zaz]

Cricketing brain wise? Yes indeed. Not only smart but extremely well composed.

He would speak in well measured sentences, and had quite a mature mindset. He never shoot from the hip.

I had the chance to meet with him on a personal level a few times and still have a good common friend. And I can vouch for him without an iota of hesitance.

And as I stated earlier, skill and performance wise, he wasn't much better than anyone else in the squad at that time. However, he was the best captaincy candidate; but PCB's Think Tank had it's head stuck in Azhar Ali's rear end.

Maybe he spoke well but he never potrayed any confidence on the pitch or ground to suggest he was captaincy material or the capable batter pakistan wanted him to be

Even in his 50th test he looked like a player playing on his debut

Like a poster said he continued to bat at 6 when it was his time to stand up and bat at 4 His performances deteriorated n he just continued to play in the shadows when he shouldve been leading the line

He played 20 tests too many in the end It was clear as day light a year after younis and misbah retired that this guys not gonna cut it but he got a long rope for some reason

 

[Cric1234]

Maybe he spoke well but he never potrayed any confidence on the pitch or ground to suggest he was captaincy material or the capable batter pakistan wanted him to be

Even in his 50th test he looked like a player playing on his debut

Like a poster said he continued to bat at 6 when it was his time to stand up and bat at 4 His performances deteriorated n he just continued to play in the shadows when he shouldve been leading the line

He played 20 tests too many in the end It was clear as day light a year after younis and misbah retired that this guys not gonna cut it but he got a long rope for some reason

He wasn’t good enough as a batsman for years before he was dropped forget getting captaincy and in ODIs he was hopeless playing at no 3 and failing to do anything worst average strike rate I’ve seen from a top order batsman in ODIs.

Too slow to play T20s aswell basically was given all the chances in tests and ODIs as a top 3 batsman that Umar Akmal should’ve been given and Fawad should’ve played tests aswell if Azhar opened but Misbah and Waqar thought highly of worse batsmen regularly than ones who would’ve have done better but were never selected.

 

[Firebat]

Asad Shafiq last 4 scores for Balochistan in Pakistan Cup:

104*
9*
101*
76*

Continues his great form with 89 (66) in Balochistan's win against Northern.

 

[MenInG]

Balochistan's Asad Shafiq played well for his 131 versus Northern

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[Saj]

In the QeA Trophy - Balochistan captain Asad Shafiq put up a solid fight with 131 off 224 balls (17 fours and a six) after starting the day on 47.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Should be brought into T20 as the captain.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Karachi: Pakistan men’s team senior batsman Asad Shafiq has responded to former pacer Shoaib Akhtar’s criticism by saying that one should check the records while forming an opinion.

Shoaib Akhtar recently criticized Asad’s defensive mindset and not dominating the opposition through courage and determination.

The 34-year-old batsman also said that if he was not brave enough so he would not have scored centuries in tough conditions.

“I would not have scored centuries in Australia, England, and South Africa if I was not courageous enough. I don’t have to justify my performance to anyone,” Shafiq said while talking to reporters via video.

“This is his opinion but one needs to check stats while forming an opinion on any player,” he added.

Asad also accepted that he has not accomplished his goals as an individual and there is still a lot to do for Pakistan cricket.

“I have not accomplished my goals as an individual but still I always try to give my maximum efforts. I have mostly batted at number six spot in my career where a batsman can not play long innings and it is difficult to convert half-centuries into big centuries but now I have better opportunity to score big as I am batting at number fifth spot,” he maintained.

Asad also hailed Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision of taking online fitness Tests of centrally and provincially contracted players.

“It was a great step by PCB because we won’t be getting any extra time to prepare ourselves before any series after the pandemic will end. As a professional, it is our responsibility to stay ready in any situation” he added.

On the question about former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed’s selection, the Karachi-born said that he can not answer on his selection. ” About any player’s selection, I can not form any answer as selectors are there but he [Sarfaraz] has worked tremendously well on his fitness in the last six months. I have best wishes for him that he will soon make a comeback in the Pakistan team as a better athlete and performer,” he added.

https://arysports.tv/dont-need-justify-performance-shafiq-responds-akhtars-criticism/

'Oh look at my stats'

That is exactly what Asad Shafiq did; played for stats and played just to keep his spot in the team. unfortunately in test cricket you can do that. Pakistan played so few test matches that we could not give opportunities to others or test our bench strength. If a fair chance were given to others like Fawad Alam etc, Asad would surely have been replaced. Fawad did replace Asad eventually However it took too long and Pakistan paid dearly for it.

 

[zaidihusain]

Pakistan's selectors were clearly baised with Fawad Alam and some other cricketers like Asim Kamal. Fawad was recalled in test matches in 2020 after a gap of 11 years and he was directly selected for aways tough tours of Eng and then NZ. He failed to perform in Eng series but played better in subsequent NZ series. It's a common sense that when any player is recalled after such a long gap first he should be allowed to play few home tests so that he can gain some confidence. Fawad was not selected to play home series against Sri Lanka & Bang in 19-20. Amusingly player like Hafeez & Malik played 55 & 35 tests respectively and failed to achieve major success. Now team management is persisting with Azhar Ali who plays every test match like debutant

 

[ElRaja]

yet another hundred and out for shafiq, he cant even hit big daddy hundreds at domestic level.

Pakistan's selectors were clearly baised with Fawad Alam and some other cricketers like Asim Kamal. Fawad was recalled in test matches in 2020 after a gap of 11 years and he was directly selected for aways tough tours of Eng and then NZ. He failed to perform in Eng series but played better in subsequent NZ series. It's a common sense that when any player is recalled after such a long gap first he should be allowed to play few home tests so that he can gain some confidence. Fawad was not selected to play home series against Sri Lanka & Bang in 19-20. Amusingly player like Hafeez & Malik played 55 & 35 tests respectively and failed to achieve major success. Now team management is persisting with Azhar Ali who plays every test match like debutant

hafeez is pbly the most impactful test opener Pakistan have had since saeed anwar, throw into the mix his specialist off spin against lefties he was a very useful test player in UAE and asian conditions. i don't see whats particularly amusing abt his test record.