Should Asad Shafiq be dropped from the Test team and who should be his replacement?

[khurram39]

Just go forward, in past he scored in one match in the series and got picked for the next one and now its over. He didn't score even in the last series he played.

Needs to induct new stuff.

Give a proper chance to Fawad Alam and Haris Sohail, giving their names to add some lefties in the middle.

 

[QalandarFan]

For the time being realistically I would like to see this batting attack -

1. Shan Masood
2. Azhar Ali
3. Haris Sohail
4. Babar Azam
5. Haider Ali
6. Mohammad Rizwan
7. Shadab / any all rounder

So to answer the question I'd bring in Haider Ali to replace Asad, it'll probably take him some time like Babar to get going at the test level however, let's invest in the youngster.

 

[TeymurBlake]

After this series it would be helpful to accept the idea that Asad Shafiq and Shoaib Malik are dropped from the intl sides and a replaced with young deserving players.

 

[shamaan]

For the time being realistically I would like to see this batting attack -

1. Shan Masood
2. Azhar Ali
3. Haris Sohail
4. Babar Azam
5. Haider Ali
6. Mohammad Rizwan
7. Shadab / any all rounder

So to answer the question I'd bring in Haider Ali to replace Asad, it'll probably take him some time like Babar to get going at the test level however, let's invest in the youngster.

Harris sohail isnt good enough in tests.

 

[shamaan]

I would go with

Azhar
Shan masood
Usman saladin
Babar
Omair bin yousuf
Rizwan
Shadab
Gohar
Shaheen
Abbas
Naseem

Imran butt
Haider ali
Ashraf
Sameen gull
Umer khan
Sami aslam

 

[MenInG]

Misbah-ul-Haq speaking to the press;

“It’s not easy as a batsman in England, Joe Root is struggling. Their openers who scored runs in previous series struggled here. For Asad, this was a tough tour but he has time to get back in form in domestic cricket and we’ll see what happenes. I think he can still perform well for Pakistan in future."

 

[zacattakk]

Misbah-ul-Haq speaking to the press;

“It’s not easy as a batsman in England, Joe Root is struggling. Their openers who scored runs in previous series struggled here. For Asad, this was a tough tour but he has time to get back in form in domestic cricket and we’ll see what happenes. I think he can still perform well for Pakistan in future."

I would be shocked if Asad is not selected for the next test series, regardless of how he performs in domestic cricket. Performances don't matter, seniority does.

 

[Saj]

I'm sure they'll continue to wheel him out for the next couple of years and then throw in a newbie on a tough away tour of Australia or South Africa.

 

[Wreck_It_Rauf]

I suppose a lot will depend on whether Haris is back for the next series.

 

[UP]

One of the most mediocre cricketer ever to play 70 plus tests. This guy didn’t deserve more than 15.

 

[JibranAnsari]

I'm sure they'll continue to wheel him out for the next couple of years and then throw in a newbie on a tough away tour of Australia or South Africa.

Old story , isnt it?

 

[Zaz]

They ll keep trotting out the usual lame excuses that theres noone to replace him in FC and that hes experienced and will bounce back

 

[Usman]

Asad was not given a place in the team on merit. He has always been given a place on his potential and because of favoritism.

Umar Akmal was booted off the team for Asad, despite having better stats.

Then Asad was given an insane amount of ODIs to prove himself and then chosen again to try to prove himself again. This was repeated ad nauseum. Go see how many games he's played for a strike rate of 50-60 or something awful. Awful average and awful strike rate combined and yet kept getting picked.

And he's still here today for the tests. Another insignificant series for him. I think he's had a ball with the team, but it's time he hung those boots up or just played domestic.

I disagree that Shafiq place in the test team was not secured on merit. For a long time he did perform for Pakistan and scored hundreds in tough situations including in places like South Africa. I agree without doubt that his place in the ODI team was not based on merit but was down to his good test form and "perfect" technique.

However Shafiq has had an unfortunate decline since MisYo retired. I don't know if it's the pressure of their absence, or the fact that Pakistan play so little test cricket meaning he can't get into rythem or the fact that his reflexes have just given up. But for some reason, he's just not the same any more and he has to go.

Haris Sohail is the second best batsman in Pakistan full stop. People say he's been average so far in test cricket which may be true, but the guy is a superstar. The way he rescued our World Cup campaign last year was proof of that. It's just unfortunate he wasn't on this tour, because like Mohammed Rizwaan, he would have made a name for himself here. You can score century after century in other countries but for some reason, it's only when you perform in one of the Big 3 countries do people suddenly sit up and take notice.

 

[Loralai]

He should not play Test cricket again. Time for Haidar Ali.

 

[TeymurBlake]

WOW!!

So very little chances of him being dropped I see. So if he performs miserably in the upcoming domestic season does than mean he is then dropped?

 

[Kroll]

Shafiq used to be fine at 6 but is not good enough to play any higher than that. Now into his mid thirties and reduced to nothing more than a holidaymaker, doesn't fit anywhere in the team.

Yet he'll be one of the first names on the flight to NZ.