Is Abdullah Shafique Pakistan's next Babar Azam?

[Bullet Drive]

We have a thread already but for him, but I believe this deserves a thread of its own.

I just went through every game Abdullah has played at the district level for Sialkot and domestic, and I have never seen a more consistent player.

Look at these phenomenal stats!

2015 - September

One day tournament. He played 5 innings:

109*
15
13
2
181

320 runs averaging 80.



2016 - August

3 day tournament. He played 8 innings:

12
21
18
27
22
151
56
110

417 runs averaging 52.


2016 - September

One day tournament. He played 5 innings:

60
103
33
66
24

286 runs averaging 57.



2017 - October

T20 tournament. He played 5 innings:

28
25
57
67*
3

180 runs averaging 45(highest run scorer)


2018 - July

2 day tournament. He played 3 innings:

105
78
21

204 runs averaging 68.

2019 - October

3 day tournament. He played 9 innings:

36
69
0
205*
27
32
16
124
36

545 runs averaging 68.

2019 - December(first class debut)

4 day tournament. He played 1 innings:

133.


Batting wise, videos are available on YouTube and elsewhere. But if you see him playing even for one ball, you can just see he is a natural.

Would love to know everyones views on Abdullah.

And also, what would PP'ers suggest to him to make him great? What tips would you give him to stand out from the rest?

Would love [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] view on him also.

And seeing his social media, its clear he pays a lot of attention to his fitness. Probably one of the only Pakistani cricketers with abs!!!!

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Really excited about him! Such a shame that he plays for central punjab where he’s unlikely to break into the first 11 because of the akmals, babar, azhar, shehzad, and salman butt. Need to be moved to another team, preferably northern, so he puts in the hours in first class cricket. After a year or so if he has performed well should get Pakistan A and after a tour or two get a call-up in time for WC 2023.

 

[Forum363]

How good he is at batting right doesn’t determine whether he is the next Babar Azam.

Babar was brilliant when he was younger - but it’s his work ethic and willingness to improve which has led to him being head and shoulders above every other Pakistan batsman.

Similarly, Smith and Kohli are the two standout batsmen of this era simply because they’re the hardest working.

So - showing some domestic scores and one video can’t prove anything unfortunately. Unless and until he displays a ridiculous work ethic (which admittedly is hard to demonstrate and takes time) you cannot say much.

 

[MMHS]

@ Bullet Drive - I'll try to write something after watching the clip minutely for few times, but even without watching it, I think it's too early to compare with Babar.

Babar was a star even before making Pakistan squad - played/led PAK Junior squads from U13 level (I believe, he toured WIN in 2009, as officially 12 years old boy for Pakistan U15), played like 3 U19 WCs and probably made PAK A, even when playing for PAK U19s. But, most critical difference is that - Babar got one of the best in world technical batting coaches in Arthur to groom him at the right age, for three years - that's priceless. No matter how talented this Abdullah is, his luck is stuck with Ijaz, Misbah.

If you are in touch with him, try to get him a league contract in UK - he hasn't made much of PAK age level squads...... I doubt if PCB’s selectors at various level know him well.

 

[Bullet Drive]

@ Bullet Drive - I'll try to write something after watching the clip minutely for few times, but even without watching it, I think it's too early to compare with Babar.

Babar was a star even before making Pakistan squad - played/led PAK Junior squads from U13 level (I believe, he toured WIN in 2009, as officially 12 years old boy for Pakistan U15), played like 3 U19 WCs and probably made PAK A, even when playing for PAK U19s. But, most critical difference is that - Babar got one of the best in world technical batting coaches in Arthur to groom him at the right age, for three years - that's priceless. No matter how talented this Abdullah is, his luck is stuck with Ijaz, Misbah.

If you are in touch with him, try to get him a league contract in UK - he hasn't made much of PAK age level squads...... I doubt if PCB’s selectors at various level know him well.

Surprisingly Misbah actually does know of Abdullah. He was really impressed with Abdullah, and it was him who got him selected for Central Punjab.

But even after an amazing first domestic season, where he scored 680 runs in 10 innings averaging 75 with 2 hundreds and 1 double ton, he never was picked for the Pak Shaheen team!!!

But yeah, league contract I could have got him one but issue is he needs 5 first-class games minimum over the past 2 years for the visa, he only has 1(he scored 133 on debut) and the other games were not counted as first-class stats as they were second division.

Btw this guy Abdullah has been a stand out batsman in most competition he's played in. Have checked all of his stats and he's been top run scorer in 4 day, 3 day, 2 day, 50 over and T20 tournaments. Also scores many runs for local club cricket.

And in terms of hard work, he's probably the hardest working one I've met. I speak with many upcoming cricketers and do my best to help them, but never seen one like Abdullah. He loves training and doesn't see it as a job. Fitness wise he is amazing too. Works really hard on fitness and fielding.

Look at this picture of him with abs!!! He's played 1 first-class game and is already in this kind of shape!

 

[Bullet Drive]

More videos of his batting:

 

[Bullet Drive]

@ Bullet Drive - I'll try to write something after watching the clip minutely for few times, but even without watching it, I think it's too early to compare with Babar.

Babar was a star even before making Pakistan squad - played/led PAK Junior squads from U13 level (I believe, he toured WIN in 2009, as officially 12 years old boy for Pakistan U15), played like 3 U19 WCs and probably made PAK A, even when playing for PAK U19s. But, most critical difference is that - Babar got one of the best in world technical batting coaches in Arthur to groom him at the right age, for three years - that's priceless. No matter how talented this Abdullah is, his luck is stuck with Ijaz, Misbah.

If you are in touch with him, try to get him a league contract in UK - he hasn't made much of PAK age level squads...... I doubt if PCB’s selectors at various level know him well.

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] please let me know your thoughts and how he can improve?

He's someone who takes on board advice and is looking to be the best he can possibly be.

Another stand out upcoming player is Muhammad Huraira Malik. He is Shoaib Malik's nephew. That guy has been unbelievable at the local level! And him and Abdullah are from the same academy 'Amir Waseem Cricket Academy'

 

[FreePalestine]

Does anyone actually know the details of why Umer Khan and Abdullah Shafique don’t get more first class games. I get the competition is tough for Abdullah but surely he should be getting regular fc chances now.. and Umer Khan not playing domestic cricket is really baffling. Anyone have any concrete answers?

 

[Rana]

Looks ok.

I hope Babar identifies batsmen to play for Pakistan more than the selectors and Misbah does.

 

[Bullet Drive]

Looks ok.

I hope Babar identifies batsmen to play for Pakistan more than the selectors and Misbah does.

Babar said this about him:

"Abdullah Shafique performed outstandingly well as a replacement player"

 

[Bullet Drive]

Does anyone actually know the details of why Umer Khan and Abdullah Shafique don’t get more first class games. I get the competition is tough for Abdullah but surely he should be getting regular fc chances now.. and Umer Khan not playing domestic cricket is really baffling. Anyone have any concrete answers?

Favouritism and being too young.

 

[Asifnow]

Does anyone actually know the details of why Umer Khan and Abdullah Shafique don’t get more first class games. I get the competition is tough for Abdullah but surely he should be getting regular fc chances now.. and Umer Khan not playing domestic cricket is really baffling. Anyone have any concrete answers?

I do not know much about Shafique but if he is performing at this level, he should be playing more FC cricket. As with Umer Khan, he has performed really good at a high level in the PSL and his lack of chances is even more curious. As with Rizwan being kept away from the international side for so long and away from KK.

There are definite politics, regional and ethnic biases sadly.

 

[Bewal Express]

We will see him when he is 26,he will take 3 years to develop and then if he has a bad season, he will be dumped. Instead We will invest in awful bits and pieces cricketers like Shaoib Malik and Hafeez for 2 dacades and having to show for it.

 

[MMHS]

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] please let me know your thoughts and how he can improve?

He's someone who takes on board advice and is looking to be the best he can possibly be.

Another stand out upcoming player is Muhammad Huraira Malik. He is Shoaib Malik's nephew. That guy has been unbelievable at the local level! And him and Abdullah are from the same academy 'Amir Waseem Cricket Academy'

Shafique guy looks very good, may be a little loose while playing outside off. It's an one minute clip, therefore I am just looking at his expansive drives for boundary, so could be misleading, but may be he should try to get closer to the ball while playing off-side drives. Anything that moves away will trouble him. Foot work against spin looks decent - may be needs the head to be more steady. His batting needs more use of top hand - may be I watched a clip with almost everything played against short ball (or lofted in on-side), but doesn't look he is a fluent front-foot driver. That can limit his scoring & rotational ability at higher level when he'll hardly get width & depth (short ball).

Rest is probably not at his hand - need to play 4 day games with long, long innings on absolute belters, where he can bat for 5-6 hours in some innings. At present, he looks brilliant in shot making, but batting is an extremely boring, repetitive task but most perfectionist job - you have to go through the same process for every ball with zero tolerance.... for 3-4 hours, may be sessions together - one mistake and brilliant 40-50 sort of stunning innings won't help much.

Who is the batting coach Amir Wasim Cricket Academy? It's more important for the coach to know his students that what we can see in few minutes clip.

 

[Bullet Drive]

Shafique guy looks very good, may be a little loose while playing outside off. It's an one minute clip, therefore I am just looking at his expansive drives for boundary, so could be misleading, but may be he should try to get closer to the ball while playing off-side drives. Anything that moves away will trouble him. Foot work against spin looks decent - may be needs the head to be more steady. His batting needs more use of top hand - may be I watched a clip with almost everything played against short ball (or lofted in on-side), but doesn't look he is a fluent front-foot driver. That can limit his scoring & rotational ability at higher level when he'll hardly get width & depth (short ball).

Rest is probably not at his hand - need to play 4 day games with long, long innings on absolute belters, where he can bat for 5-6 hours in some innings. At present, he looks brilliant in shot making, but batting is an extremely boring, repetitive task but most perfectionist job - you have to go through the same process for every ball with zero tolerance.... for 3-4 hours, may be sessions together - one mistake and brilliant 40-50 sort of stunning innings won't help much.

Who is the batting coach Amir Wasim Cricket Academy? It's more important for the coach to know his students that what we can see in few minutes clip.

The coach was Amir Waseem himself, however, he sadly passed away a few years ago.

That club has produced the likes of Saif Badar, Usama Mir.. and now Abdullah and Huraira.

 

[Theo_14]

I don’t think he’ll be Babar Azam; Abdullah Shafique will be Abdullah Shafique, he has his own style, vision and skills that will make him unique.

Still early days but his ice cold approach to games and ability to read the game so well and play accordingly with composure is a vital attribute to have. He seems focused and takes his cricket very seriously. Fine performance today.

 

[Shaddy86]

His temperament is unique might even be more patient as a batsman than Babar. I cant think of a Pakistani opener who wouldn't have thrown away his after getting to a hundred and thinking his job was done. He took on responsibility and saw it through, didn't leave it onto someone to finish it off. I hope he is kept as a Test specialist and doesn't get thrown into ODI's and then eventually dropped from tests too. Keep him as a Test specialist, with his temperament and technique he will play for a long time and a lot more consistently than the likes of Shan and Imam.

 

[shamaan]

Abdullah is more patient than Babar however Babar has alot more shots and more aggressive.

 

[Fenrir]

He looks a very good player but let us wait and see how he performs in SENA.Technically he is very sound and has good temperament.

 

[Justcrazy]

Why should he look to become like babar , as a youngster he should aim to be better than him. His destiny is in his hands , if he makes runs and keep making them against all countries , he can become bigger and that should be his aim. He needs to make the ground his own world.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

He has the potential to surpass Babar. The speed at which this guy seems to learn and adapt is genius

 

[Saj]

The basics look right.

He has a solid technique, he has a good range of shots and his temperament is fantastic as he has shown in Galle.

Tougher tests will come when he has to bat in places like Australia, England, New Zealand etc but he looks like the sort of batter who can succeed around the world.

I just hope he stays level-headed and focussed, as sometimes some of our batters have lost focus and have fallen away.

 

[Theo_14]

He could well outperform Babar during this World Cup. Hopefully that 100 is a breakthrough for him in many aspects. Consistency key now.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Abdullah has a good technique and his gameplay against the spin is also impressive. He needs to be consistent and outperform everybody else in this World Cup as he has his opportunity now.

 

[hassan918]

Abdullah has a good technique and his gameplay against the spin is also impressive. He needs to be consistent and outperform everybody else in this World Cup as he has his opportunity now.

Yes, he has good enough technique to score on any kind of surface and against any kind of bowling spell.

 

[Farabi]

It’s going to take a lot and some more to outperform Babar. Even if Abdullah can deliver 80% of babar, Pak will be served well.
Just 1 or 2 ODI innings are not enough to assess trajectory. Let’s see what he can deliver. He seems suspect on Bouncers and in dippers. Good player of spin in general but seems to struggle against left arm spin.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

It’s going to take a lot and some more to outperform Babar. Even if Abdullah can deliver 80% of babar, Pak will be served well.
Just 1 or 2 ODI innings are not enough to assess trajectory. Let’s see what he can deliver. He seems suspect on Bouncers and in dippers. Good player of spin in general but seems to struggle against left arm spin.

His innings in Tests and ODIs have had more impact than Babar. He will end up far higher in the echelon of Pakistan batsmen than Babar.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

FTB? Please no

 

[Farabi]

His innings in Tests and ODIs have had more impact than Babar. He will end up far higher in the echelon of Pakistan batsmen than Babar.

Lol ok. We seem to have a memory of a fish.
The guy has literally played a handful of tests in South Asia. Not a single test outside Asia yet, and he struggled against English pacers at home conditions.
In ODIs, he has played 8 games and failed in 6 of them. 1 century so far.
So far, he cannot even tie shoe laces of Babar. Abdullah has talent but don’t overhype after 1 game plz.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Lol ok. We seem to have a memory of a fish.
The guy has literally played a handful of tests in South Asia. Not a single test outside Asia yet, and he struggled against English pacers at home conditions.
In ODIs, he has played 8 games and failed in 6 of them. 1 century so far.
So far, he cannot even tie shoe laces of Babar. Abdullah has talent but don’t overhype after 1 game plz.

Analysis please. Yes in Tests he has to prove himself outside Asia. In ODIs he's already played a knock Babar isn't capable off. 99.9% of Babar's ODI runs are meaningless. He needs to score in finals and World Cups. In 2 or 3 years Abdullah will be far ahead of Babar in all 3 formats.

 

[ChTab]

He's technically better than Babar far superior player of spin as compared to Babar & can step up the gears unlike Babar who has only one gear also unlike Babar he can score impactful runs.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

He is going to be a an Abdullah Shafiq.

He has everything which can make him a great of the game.

 

[Mohraheem]

Don’t let him near Misbah or ifthikar (Misbah 2.0) or anyone with defensive tuktuk mindset

 

[FearlessRoar]

Abdullah Shafique is technical player. He plays calculated shots. I have observed him during SL vs Pak game. He is handy middle order batter. Opening the innings is against the nature of his game.

 

[Nado_]

Very very early to compare him to anyone . I remember people thinking Nasir Jamshed would be the next Saeed Anwar and Nasir had all the shots but he literally fizzled away.

In regards to Shafique he has a lot of potential, but this is where the hard work really begins, if he wants to become world class he needs to put any fame, fun aside and work as hard as ever and not become complacent, this will be the key to his success

 

[shamaan]

Abdullah Shafique is technical player. He plays calculated shots. I have observed him during SL vs Pak game. He is handy middle order batter. Opening the innings is against the nature of his game.

He opens in tests he bats at 3 for his psl side and opens for his domestic side....

 

[MenInG]

There is calmness about him which is so nice to see from our top order batter.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Shot of the highest caliber from Abdullah. That shot has silenced the crowd big time.

 

[Firebat]

Shot of the highest caliber from Abdullah. That shot has silenced the crowd big time.

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Now out for 20.

 

[BouncerGuy]

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Now out for 20.

Commentators curse I guess..

 

[BouncerGuy]

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Poor shot from a guy who century in his debut World Cup game.

 

[hassan918]

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Poor shot from a guy who century in his debut World Cup game.

To be fair, the ball kept a bit low. He looked really good for his 20 runs innings.

 

[JAV12341]

He is not even good enough to lace any of the current Indian batsmen shoes. Another average timid player who will flatter to deceive. Basically another yasir hameed in the making pretty shots here and there no substance.

 

[Major]

He is not even good enough to lace any of the current Indian batsmen shoes. Another average timid player who will flatter to deceive. Basically another yasir hameed in the making pretty shots here and there no substance.

calm down.

he is a good batter, needs experience.

 

[JAV12341]

calm down.

he is a good batter, needs exper

He’s turning 24 next month literally same age as subhuman Gill look at the difference. My man missed a straight innocuous bowl to get out. Like I said he will average around mid 30s and will flatter to deceive against the weaker teams just like timid Imam ul Haq.

I’m a Pakistani fan and I’ll tell you who I rate - there are 2 openers in pakistan called saim ayub and Hasan Nawaz who are 10 times the batsmen these ttfs are

 

[Major]

He’s turning 24 next month literally same age as subhuman Gill look at the difference. My man missed a straight innocuous bowl to get out. Like I said he will average around mid 30s and will flatter to deceive against the weaker teams just like timid Imam ul Haq.

I’m a Pakistani fan and I’ll tell you who I rate - there are 2 openers in pakistan called saim ayub and Hasan Nawaz who are 10 times the batsmen these ttfs are

You rate those two cause they play fast, but even Ayub would have issues.

Thing is, Abdullah Shafique lacks experience and would require that to make it big, He is not a bad cricketer. Ayub aswell

 

[SamNJ]

Abdullah Shafique has looked good and unphased by pressure. The SL chase was class.
Got a difficult ball today. Expecting him to come good.

 

[JAV12341]

You rate those two cause they play fast, but even Ayub would have issues.

Thing is, Abdullah Shafique lacks experience and would require that to make it big, He is not a bad cricketer. Ayub aswell

Like I said it all about the mindset Ahmed shehzad also looked pretty playing shos but his strike rate always hovered around 70 because he played too many dot balls.

Yea I rate saim ayub and hasan Nawaz because they are modern day openers and can clear the inner circle with ease and with chances will average above 40 I think We have to move on from these strike rate of 70 touch players that bring nothi by to the team but heartache

 

[Bewal Express]

Lots to like but here is my worry. Abdullah like Babar and others is a linear player, and what I mean by that is that if a bowler bowls the ball in length bowl, he will hit it where you expect. This makes it easy for people to set fields in T20 and ODI cricket.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

[Mohammed Siraj:]

Yes, absolutely. Because when a new ball comes in, you have to see if it's swinging or not. You can pitch it up at the start and can get hit for a few boundaries because it's such a big format, and you are trying to figure if the ball is swinging or not. Then we understand which line is better on the wicket. Then we consistently keep hitting the areas. Abdullah Shafique’s wicket was a plan because I had spoken to Rohit Bhai - I had bowled a bouncer to him before but he got stuck in the middle. Then I talked to Rohit for a while and spent some time there. He thought I was going to bowl bouncer again. He was on backfoot and I pitched the ball up and got a good success.

 

[Third Man]

Like I said it all about the mindset Ahmed shehzad also looked pretty playing shos but his strike rate always hovered around 70 because he played too many dot balls.

Yea I rate saim ayub and hasan Nawaz because they are modern day openers and can clear the inner circle with ease and with chances will average above 40 I think We have to move on from these strike rate of 70 touch players that bring nothi by to the team but heartache

The fact that you compared Ahmad Shehzad with Abdullah says it all. Abdullah has already played match winning daddy hundreds in test cricket in trying conditions. Who even is Hasan Nawaz? If you think Abdullah is a 70 strike rate player, then I doubt you've ever watched him. He'll be the best Pakistan all format batter for the next 10 years and I'm willing to bet on that. Not as flashy as Saim, who I like as well, but he's got everything to be just as effective in limited overs cricket.

 

[amvbfm]

To be fair, the ball kept a bit low. He looked really good for his 20 runs innings.

He looked comfortable and confident during his stay - more assured than some of the other batters. But played the wrong shot to a straight ball which also stayed a bit low.

 

[Syed1]

The fact that you compared Ahmad Shehzad with Abdullah says it all. Abdullah has already played match winning daddy hundreds in test cricket in trying conditions. Who even is Hasan Nawaz? If you think Abdullah is a 70 strike rate player, then I doubt you've ever watched him. He'll be the best Pakistan all format batter for the next 10 years and I'm willing to bet on that. Not as flashy as Saim, who I like as well, but he's got everything to be just as effective in limited overs cricket.

For a batsman like Abdullah to be successful you need a batsman like an in-form Fakhar to be at the other end. It is completely illogical to pair him with tuk tuk Imam. That way Pakistan will waste the PP overs in every match. If Abdullah has the role to play through the innings at like 85 SR, then the other opener should atleast target 100 SR. Imam struggles to even keep up at 70 SR.

 

[Third Man]

Lots to like but here is my worry. Abdullah like Babar and others is a linear player, and what I mean by that is that if a bowler bowls the ball in length bowl, he will hit it where you expect. This makes it easy for people to set fields in T20 and ODI cricket.

Don't agree. He can move around in the crease back and forth and side to side. Not a quality found in Babar. He can also sweep quite well and has started to develop a decent lap shot as well. From what I've seen, he understands the requirements of modern cricket.

 

[Third Man]

For a batsman like Abdullah to be successful you need a batsman like an in-form Fakhar to be at the other end. It is completely illogical to pair him with tuk tuk Imam. That way Pakistan will waste the PP overs in every match. If Abdullah has the role to play through the innings at like 85 SR, then the other opener should atleast target 100 SR. Imam struggles to even keep up at 70 SR.

Abdullah will eventually pair with Saim Ayub. Looks unlikely in the near future if Inzimam is kept as the selector but it'll happen eventually.

 

[Third Man]

Don't agree. He can move around in the crease back and forth and side to side. Not a quality found in Babar. He can also sweep quite well and has started to develop a decent lap shot as well. From what I've seen, he understands the requirements of modern cricket.

Also, I think you're kinda putting him in a box if you think Abdullah can only play at 85 SR. Yes, he'll start that way like many batsmen do but he has the shots to accelerate. He already has a better pull shot and better game against spin than Babar.

 

[amvbfm]

The fact that you compared Ahmad Shehzad with Abdullah says it all. Abdullah has already played match winning daddy hundreds in test cricket in trying conditions. Who even is Hasan Nawaz? If you think Abdullah is a 70 strike rate player, then I doubt you've ever watched him. He'll be the best Pakistan all format batter for the next 10 years and I'm willing to bet on that. Not as flashy as Saim, who I like as well, but he's got everything to be just as effective in limited overs cricket.

People fail to see the difference between T20 and ODI cricket. Yes the ODI game has evolved but you still need to construct proper innings to succeed in ODI cricket. You just can’t hit every delivery over the top and hope to play long innings. Our minds have been so attuned to that kind of batting that we just don’t appreciate the requirements of ODIs. Yes our batting needs improvement but hacks like Hasan Nawaz aren’t the solution. Players like Abdullah and Saim are and hopefully they will prove that soon.

 

[Bewal Express]

Don't agree. He can move around in the crease back and forth and side to side. Not a quality found in Babar. He can also sweep quite well and has started to develop a decent lap shot as well. From what I've seen, he understands the requirements of modern cricket.

I hope you are right. We need both quality and depth and let's hope he develops but I have my doubts

 

[shamaan]

He’s turning 24 next month literally same age as subhuman Gill look at the difference. My man missed a straight innocuous bowl to get out. Like I said he will average around mid 30s and will flatter to deceive against the weaker teams just like timid Imam ul Haq.

I’m a Pakistani fan and I’ll tell you who I rate - there are 2 openers in pakistan called saim ayub and Hasan Nawaz who are 10 times the batsmen these ttfs are

Yes look the difference Gill has been poor in tests.

 

[Savak]

[Mohammed Siraj:]

Yes, absolutely. Because when a new ball comes in, you have to see if it's swinging or not. You can pitch it up at the start and can get hit for a few boundaries because it's such a big format, and you are trying to figure if the ball is swinging or not. Then we understand which line is better on the wicket. Then we consistently keep hitting the areas. Abdullah Shafique’s wicket was a plan because I had spoken to Rohit Bhai - I had bowled a bouncer to him before but he got stuck in the middle. Then I talked to Rohit for a while and spent some time there. He thought I was going to bowl bouncer again. He was on backfoot and I pitched the ball up and got a good success.

This is the difference between Pakistan and India. Indian Cricketers are miles ahead when it comes to game awareness and intelligence.

Babar in comparison is just a paindu who doesn't even understand his surroundings and know what is going on.

 

[MenInG]

Hope Abdullah does not lose his confidence and continues to grow.

 

[Farabi]

It’s going to take a lot and some more to outperform Babar. Even if Abdullah can deliver 80% of babar, Pak will be served well.
Just 1 or 2 ODI innings are not enough to assess trajectory. Let’s see what he can deliver. He seems suspect on Bouncers and in dippers. Good player of spin in general but seems to struggle against left arm spin.

He’s been getting out to in dippers. He needs to sort this out.
Also, his game game against bouncers is still suspect.

 

[mominsaigol]

Better question: Is babar azam pakistan's next fan version of babar azam?

Fans seem to distort reality by acting as if a good player but not even in top 10 is somehow the 2nd Bradman

 

[SamNJ]

Honestly I don't see Babar's fluency in him. But the way he didn't lose composure in such a big chase was really worth appreciation.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

He will be change ODI cricket in next few years by laying solid platforms at top.

Unfortunately, Imam isnt the answer.

Babar is a stat padder.

Abdullah simply wont be.

Bookmark this post and come to me in 2 years time.

 

[Rana]

Abdullah Technique

 

[Firebat]

Abdullah Technique

Is that a compliment or an insult?

 

[ex-q-zit]

Too early to say. he has just played a handful of games. His big test will come against the big boys. He has already failed against India. We have to see how he does against the likes of SA, NZ, AUS and ENG. Even against Mujeeb on the Chennai pitch.

 

[SalimBhai]

I rate him very highly. Him and saud are the future

 

[Champ_Pal]

He reminds me so much of hafeez.

 

[mominsaigol]

Is that a compliment or an insult?

Insult, he's openly expressed a dislike towards Abdullah in the past.

He likes saud, Saim ayub, Fakhar, Babar( as a player only) .

Abdullah, Imam Shadab, Nawaz he hates.

Rizwan he loves the most, his favourite player

 

[Savak]

Abdullah has scored centuries against Australia, England, Sri Lanka in his brief career. 3 match winning centuries.

The lad needs to aim big and high by aiming to be the Pakistani version of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli

 

[Sunzi]

I like him the most of the current "young/new" players.

Looks like he has a bit about him and has backed that up with some good performances to date. He doesn't appear burdened by the baggage Pak players carry when entering the side. It's refreshing to see... but early days also.