Is 2017 going to be the make or break year for Asad Shafiq?

[Leo23]

He has been a regular member of the playing xi since 2010 but he has not developed into a consistent batsman like Azhar Ali and continues to perform once or twice in a series.

As long as Younis and Misbah were there Pakistan were able to carry him in the line up but now with both of them gone he will have to take over as a senior batsman along side Azhar Ali.

If he fails to step up this year do you think he will eventually be dropped for a younger batsman who has the potential to be a world beater?

It has long been said that the real test of Azhar and Shafiq will come after the retirement of Misbah and Younis but Azhar has already established himself as a top player ,

Is 2017 going to be a make or break year for Shafiq?

Discuss

 

[hadi123]

I think Asad Shafiq has separated himself from the domestic players. He has centuries in England, South Africa and Australia. This separates a batsman who can only score centuries in flat pitches of Asia. He has shown he definitely has the talent and skill to be a proper test batsman. That knock against Australia in the Day Night Test match is, arguably, one of the best knocks ever in a losing cause. Even some Indians wanted Pakistan to pull that chase off.
So I don't think he will be discarded anytime soon. I think one thing he needs is consistency. I remember in England last year he got a pair in the third test and followed that up with a fantastic century. I think he will be a senior player in our team and a permanent fixture for at least a couple of years, I think the WI tour earlier this year was just a bad series for him, I have faith in him that he will get runs in our next series. With Misbah and YK, he is one of our senior batsmen now and I am backing him to come good, I just hope we can find a fixed batting position for him.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

He's a liability.

 

[backfootpunch]

he has been a regular member of the playing xi since 2010 but he has not developed into a consistent batsman like azhar and continues to perform once or twice in a series

as long as younis and misbah were there pakistan were able to carry him in the line up but now with both of them gone he will have to take over as a senior batsman along side azhar

if he fails to step up this year do you think he will eventually be dropped for a younger batsman who has the potential to be a world beater?

it has long been said that the real test of azhar and shafiq will come after the retirement of misbah and younis but azhar has already established himself as a top player

is 2017 going to be the make or break year for shafiq?

discuss

By end of 2018 I would say yes because he's a mental midget. His capacity is limited to averaging 40 in a series and score 1 x 100 as shown by the tour of Eng, Aus and home series in UAE v WI - note the opposition and conditions isn't necessary the limiting factor although his overall numbers in Eng, Aus, SA, NZ and WI combined are poor averaging somwhere in the 20s!

Has solid technique but mentally not good enough at this level - just a Serial choker. Scores his runs very slowly but he will be living off the knock vs Aus in the D/N which was an overrated knock in a losing cause. What many fail to notice is that when Amir came on to bat he was hiding at the non-strikers end to reduce the number of balls he would face and at the other end Amir was scoring runs and transferring pressure onto the Aussie bowlers which allowed Shafiq to get going - this innings is one of many examples that illustrate his lack of courage and certainly not a team player but a coward who plays for himself.

To average under 40 as a middle order batsman playing half of your games in UAE simply isn't international standard however every country you see him play, the home commentary team such as Sky, Channel 9 and etc always go OTT with his "talent" and "potential".

Truth be told he's been a poor investment - Misbah and Waqar are to blame for this. I'm no fan of Umar Akmal and like everyone else on here I do not support his inclusion at present however when these 2 seniors decided to drop him when he was the best batsman in England and Australia (during the 2009 and 2010 tours) for Shafiq, you can see it was nothing but politics by the disgraceful duo. It's hardly suprising the mess they've created for Sarfraz and Micky Arthur yet some Misbah fan-boys on here want to do everything to take away the credit for the former.

I can't wait for the day Shafiq is dropped but it won't happen under Sarfraz any time soon unless he is left to last resort when it will be too late after the damage will be done during the England and SA tours in 2018. Sarfraz is a good captain but if he wants emulate Imran Khan he has to be ruthless like he was and managed to go to the extent of making the difficult choice of dropping his cousin Majid on the grounds of merit.

To conclude I should also add it is a myth that most of us on here believed 1-2 years ago that Shafiq was not playing at his full potential because he was batting at six. Well we've seen the results of him batting at 3 and how that exposed is mental inability to survive at this level.

I leave you all with a question to ask yourself - Is it right that Babar Azam the newbie (despite his talent) is being made to bat at 3 whereas the senior and vastly experienced Asad Shafiq can hide at number 6?

 

[Slog]

I see a lot of self defeating hilarious arguments above

It's a joke to suggest that if Umar Akmal was persisted with, he would have been a better batsman today

Akmals major problem is his poor decision making and lack of patience. Even in 'easy' UAE conditions his best would have been pretty 30s.

Hilarious arguments above.

Shafiqs had a terrible last 20 months or so and perhaps would have been dropped if not for retirement of the big 2 but at no point was Umar Akmal ever going to be outperforming him in Test cricket over a sample of matches

 

[coy0607]

I think Asad Shafiq has separated himself from the domestic players

this isn't a 1 time thing- you have to consistenly do this because newer players are always coming up

Shafiq has played some fantastic knocks, but for a guy with 50+ tests, he isn't nearly consistent enough

 

[Suleiman]

Wrong side of 30 and he still bats like he did as an evergreen boy making a debut back in 2010, nothing has changed.

Maybe when he retires his biggest achievement will be his technique..

 

[msb314]

Shafiq is rubbish - plays a good knock once in a while but never been able to translate that into any sort of consistency.

I'd say good riddance and hope he is dropped before we continue to suffer for another half a decade.

 

[todfod 11]

Future test will decide whether he will bloom under pressure or burst. he has been hiding under the shadow MisYou

 

[mak36]

I think Asad Shafiq has separated himself from the domestic players. He has centuries in England, South Africa and Australia. This separates a batsman who can only score centuries in flat pitches of Asia. He has shown he definitely has the talent and skill to be a proper test batsman. That knock against Australia in the Day Night Test match is, arguably, one of the best knocks ever in a losing cause. Even some Indians wanted Pakistan to pull that chase off.
So I don't think he will be discarded anytime soon. I think one thing he needs is consistency. I remember in England last year he got a pair in the third test and followed that up with a fantastic century. I think he will be a senior player in our team and a permanent fixture for at least a couple of years, I think the WI tour earlier this year was just a bad series for him, I have faith in him that he will get runs in our next series. With Misbah and YK, he is one of our senior batsmen now and I am backing him to come good, I just hope we can find a fixed batting position for him.

The other problem he has is the fact he only plays tests, and given PCT do not play that many test matches at the moment, it makes finding consistency all the more difficult.

 

[Markhor]

Truth be told he's been a poor investment - Misbah and Waqar are to blame for this. I'm no fan of Umar Akmal and like everyone else on here I do not support his inclusion at present however when these 2 seniors decided to drop him when he was the best batsman in England and Australia (during the 2009 and 2010 tours) for Shafiq, you can see it was nothing but politics by the disgraceful duo. It's hardly suprising the mess they've created for Sarfraz and Micky Arthur yet some Misbah fan-boys on here want to do everything to take away the credit for the former.

Umar Akmal was dropped because he kept making pretty 30s and 40s without ever converting. They may make for good ODI knocks but are useless in Tests. The decision to drop him was further vindicated by the fact he went three years without scoring a single FC hundred until this most recent domestic season.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...s=1;template=results;type=allround;view=match

You mention he was the best averaging batsman on the 2010 England tour but don't note that was inflated by a fifty in the very last innings at Lord's in the final Test after the spot-fixing scandal broke in a hopeless cause. He FAILED in all other innings, averaging 24 across the six Tests we played that summer. Talk about revising history.

Asad Shafiq's problem has been inconsistency. He's still vulnerable to balls coming into him. Its fair if you want to argue someone else was worthy of that investment like Fawad Alam or Haris Sohail but even then - Haris's fitness has been problematic and there'll always be questions over Fawad's technique. Its unlikely Shafiq will be dropped now with the retirements of Younis and Misbah as we'd have to blood three new batsmen in our Test team. Look at the issues England and Sri Lanka have had replacing their experienced batsmen.

But Umar Akmal definitely has proven himself not worthy of any investment thanks to his pathetic fitness and attitude which was a problem then (go ask his former NCA coach Mudassar Nazar) not just today.

 

[Bewal Express]

He needs to show the investment in him has been worth it. The team needs him to bat at 4 and become the middle fulcrum that is needed with the MUH and YK gone. Lets see if he shows courage and asks to bat 4, or wants to hide at 6.

 

[Hasan123]

With Misbah and Younis gone , now is the time for Shafiq to step up. I would slot him at 4 or 5. PCB have invested a lot of time in him. This is the year to prove that was the right choice. I am a fan of his but a low scoring series versus Lankans could see his place in doubt.

 

[Pakistani_Legend]

Gotta pick up the slack or get the sack. Simple.

Too long, too inconsistent; needs to shoulder responsibility and come up with some good performances.

 

[backfootpunch]

I see a lot of self defeating hilarious arguments above

It's a joke to suggest that if Umar Akmal was persisted with, he would have been a better batsman today

Akmals major problem is his poor decision making and lack of patience. Even in 'easy' UAE conditions his best would have been pretty 30s.

Hilarious arguments above.

Shafiqs had a terrible last 20 months or so and perhaps would have been dropped if not for retirement of the big 2 but at no point was Umar Akmal ever going to be outperforming him in Test cricket over a sample of matches

Never suggested that and made it clear I do not support his inclusion. I stated it wasn't the right time to drop him and with politics from Misbah and Waqar you can see why his career went downhill, he was the Pakistan batsman against pace and has done far better than Shafiq outside the SC if you consider averages against Eng, WI, Aus, SA and NZ - Shafiq averages mid 20s whereas Umar Akmal averages 37 - massive disparity outside Asia against major test sides whether he converts hundreds or not he is far more consistent and a greater run score at a much better strike rate. He can score a 50 off 60-80 balls which can put the opposition on the back foot evident by his SR of 66 compare to Shafiq's SR of 47. Umar Akmal has scored runs against better bowling attacks and in tougher conditions away from home whereas Shafiq has scored soft runs in easier conditions and inferior bowlers.

You call my argument hilarious but going by your closing lines clearly concur with my views on Shafiq.

 

[backfootpunch]

Umar Akmal was dropped because he kept making pretty 30s and 40s without ever converting. They may make for good ODI knocks but are useless in Tests. The decision to drop him was further vindicated by the fact he went three years without scoring a single FC hundred until this most recent domestic season.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...s=1;template=results;type=allround;view=match

You mention he was the best averaging batsman on the 2010 England tour but don't note that was inflated by a fifty in the very last innings at Lord's in the final Test after the spot-fixing scandal broke in a hopeless cause. He FAILED in all other innings, averaging 24 across the six Tests we played that summer. Talk about revising history.

Asad Shafiq's problem has been inconsistency. He's still vulnerable to balls coming into him. Its fair if you want to argue someone else was worthy of that investment like Fawad Alam or Haris Sohail but even then - Haris's fitness has been problematic and there'll always be questions over Fawad's technique. Its unlikely Shafiq will be dropped now with the retirements of Younis and Misbah as we'd have to blood three new batsmen in our Test team. Look at the issues England and Sri Lanka have had replacing their experienced batsmen.

But Umar Akmal definitely has proven himself not worthy of any investment thanks to his pathetic fitness and attitude which was a problem then (go ask his former NCA coach Mudassar Nazar) not just today.

As stated in my post I made it clear that don't support for his inclusion for the same reasons as you're saying - I'm saying that it was the wrong time for him to be dropped when he was our best performer away from SC against major test sides (Aus, SA, NZ, Eng and WI) where he was averaging 37 at a SR of 60-70 as opposed to Shafiq's mid 20s average with a SR of 40-50.

You mention how his average was inflated in that tour of England in 2010 which is very much true however remember the conditions were vicious it was overcast all series and Anderson was at his peak and even when he was no bowling there was no rest bite because Swann was also at the top of his game - all batsman struggled but Umar Akmal looked far better player than anyone else in that XI. Yousuf played 1-2 nice knocks but he was almost finished in tests.

My point in a punch line is if Umar Akaml can be dropped for averaging mid to high 30s away from SC then Shafiq should have been dropped by now since it's failed investment however politics has taken precedence over merit. Misbah and Waqar especially had a soft spot for him and has a long friendship with his fellow karachite Sarfraz, so nothing will happen until he is embarrased in 2018 when he goes to England again followed by SA tour.

 

[htariq25]

2017 nearly over m8. I think just 3 test vs Sri Lanka coming

 

[mak36]

Never suggested that and made it clear I do not support his inclusion. I stated it wasn't the right time to drop him and with politics from Misbah and Waqar you can see why his career went downhill, he was the Pakistan batsman against pace and has done far better than Shafiq outside the SC if you consider averages against Eng, WI, Aus, SA and NZ - Shafiq averages mid 20s whereas Umar Akmal averages 37 - massive disparity outside Asia against major test sides whether he converts hundreds or not he is far more consistent and a greater run score at a much better strike rate. He can score a 50 off 60-80 balls which can put the opposition on the back foot evident by his SR of 66 compare to Shafiq's SR of 47. Umar Akmal has scored runs against better bowling attacks and in tougher conditions away from home whereas Shafiq has scored soft runs in easier conditions and inferior bowlers.

You call my argument hilarious but going by your closing lines clearly concur with my views on Shafiq.

1. He wasn't dropped because of politics. He was dropped because (i) he kept making starts and not converting (as has been already mentioned) and (ii) he had discipline and fitness issues. Why do you say he was dropped for politics? It's quite clearly false to say that Umar Akmal was dropped because of "nothing but politics by the disgraceful duo of [Misbah and Waqar]." What happened to individual responsibility?

2. Against Eng, WI, Aus, SA and NZ, Shafiq has a combined average of 37.98. I'm not sure where you got mid 20s from. In fact Shafiq has a higher average than Akmal's does against these teams.

3. From memory, Shafiq is the only Pakistani player to have scored centuries in England, South Africa and Australia. Only three of his ten test centuries have come in the UAE. That means seven of his ten centuries have been scored abroad. Six of his ten centuries came against the teams you have said he has a poor average against. So where is the massive disparity? Scoring centuries in England, SA and Australia undermines your point that he has scored "soft runs in easier conditions and inferior bowlers."

As has already been said, Shafiq's biggest problem is consistency. He does need to improve on that quite considerably, especially given MisYou have retired. But I don't know why you keep bringing Umar Akmal into the conversation. You keep saying you don't want Akmal in the team now, so why do you keep making the comparison with Shafiq?