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

Firebat

Firebat

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Horrible series for Asad Shafiq and there has to be question marks about his international future.<br><br>Innings 5<br>Runs 67<br>Average 13.40<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvPAK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1298302569207521281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Surely this is the end for Shafiq, looks absolutely finished. Couldn't get a score in the dying embers of the match as it was petering out to a draw, lost his wicket to the part time rubbish before the new ball. No career saving soft 50.

So it begs the question, if he is to be replaced, who should inherit the #5 batting position from him in Tests for Pakistan?
 
Should be based on whoever performed the best domestically in the prior season.
 
Lol, Azhar Ali was rewarded for his horrible tour of South Africa in 2019 by being rewarded the test captaincy. What makes you think the selectors will drop Asad Shafiq especially when Misbah is the coach?
 
Pakistan test team needs team building for the future and it requires gradually moving from senior players to the junior players. We should never be looking to alter too much in the team. But one batsman who needs to be dropped is Asad Shafiq. I am not sure about the replacement but Fawad should be given more chances at No. 5 and a young player should be drafted in for No 6 spot. The worst outcome would be to play Haris and Fawad together because this is the high time to play one youngster whereas Fawad and Haris should compete for No.5 spot. If the youngster is an all rounder then Rizwan can come up to 6 and the guy at 7.
Personally, I really want Pakistan to nurture Haider Ali as he is an exciting talent but I would prefer him in the top order.
 
Yes...play Rizwan at 6.
Bring in Shadab or Faheem at 7, depending on conditions, and play to win, Misbah?
 
Savak said:
Lol, Azhar Ali was rewarded for his horrible tour of South Africa in 2019 by being rewarded the test captaincy. What makes you think the selectors will drop Asad Shafiq especially when Misbah is the coach?
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Maybe if Shoaib becomes selector he will drop Shafiq.
 
Pakistan management would not drop him. They would see this tour as a success and would retain the entire team. Unfortunately to show for any actions Naseem might get the chop which would be sad.
 
number 5 is easiest position to bat , a new comer should be given an extended chance at number 5.

Haris sohail needs to bat up , at number 3.

Number 5 should be Usman salahuddin.

Though azhar scored a 100 , but its about time he thinks about his retirement.
 
The most useless cricketer ever.He should have been kicked out a long time ago.He averages 38 after playing 77 matches.how could anyone be so awful.
 
The only thing worth watching in Asad Shafique is that hilarious face which he makes when he gets out as he has a clue of what just happened.
 
Madplayer said:
The only thing worth watching in Asad Shafique is that hilarious face which he makes when he gets out as he has a clue of what just happened.
Click to expand...

That's exactly how I kept spelling his name before correcting myself that he is not a musketeer.
 
Invincible Gujjar said:
The most useless cricketer ever.He should have been kicked out a long time ago.He averages 38 after playing 77 matches.how could anyone be so awful.
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The problem is not the average 38. Thats a decent number. The problem is that his average has dipped from 45 to 38 in last few years which just shows how awful he has performed. His gradual decline should have meant his axing from the side about a couple of years ago. Yet we continue to see him hopping onto the pitch in excitement and ending up giddy at the sight of slight movement.
 
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Rayyman said:
Haris Sohail :hs
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He's not impressed as much but yes could see why he should get a go unless he finds "Aaink Wala Jin" in his hotel room again then we should be worried.

Fawad to be fair deserves a bit of a run despite not a spectacular series but to be fair to him in his last innings the delivery should've been called a no-ball and he looked solid for the most part he was occupying the crease. Plus he got 2 wickets so that's something that is a positive.
 
Shoaibbtt said:
He's not impressed as much but yes could see why he should get a go unless he finds "Aaink Wala Jin" in his hotel room again then we should be worried.

Fawad to be fair deserves a bit of a run despite not a spectacular series but to be fair to him in his last innings the delivery should've been called a no-ball and he looked solid for the most part he was occupying the crease. Plus he got 2 wickets so that's something that is a positive.
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If you are playing with 6 batsmen, then the Babar will bat at #4 and Haris at #5.

I would rather play a youngster at #6 than Fawad Alam. Preferably Saud Shakeel, but Saad Ali, Usman Salahuddin and Agha Salman can also be tried.
 
The answer is obvious, but will it happen?

Definitely need to bring in Salahudin.

Saad Ali is another option.
 
Rayyman said:
If you are playing with 6 batsmen, then the Babar will bat at #4 and Haris at #5.

I would rather play a youngster at #6 than Fawad Alam. Preferably Saud Shakeel, but Saad Ali, Usman Salahuddin and Agha Salman can also be tried.
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All very good choices but still think we haven't fully seen anything from Fawad yet. I still think 2 innings is too quick to judge someone yet. I also feel that majority of our games are played in Asian conditions and so he should be trialed there also before being booted.
 
If he isn't dropped now, I don't know if he ever will be.

Knowing Misbah, he might announce him in the ODI squad for the upcoming series vs Zimbabwe.

Youngster ko confidence chaiya...
 
Who ever gets a go needs a good run of about 5-6 tests. Not to be judged on one innings . We have a habit on this forum of writing off people after on innings .

Haider Ali is to raw for test cricket I feel . Should be given a run in limited overs cricket first .

Usman salahuddin and Saad Ali are good options . Fawad Alam needs to be persisted with for a few more tests . Not sure where Harris is with his fitness at the moment.

For the next series -

Shan-
Abid
Azhar
Babar
Fawad
Saad/ Usman /haris.

If Harris plays move Fawad to 6.
 
With Asad Shafiq we are effectively one man down. Anyone would do. Better to blood a young player such as Haider, Saud Shakeel.

Haris should be back with Fawad gone.

Azhar should be gone too ideally.
 
He will not be dropped and I am not saying that because of Azhar’s presser.
 
Shan
Abid
Azhar
Babar
Haris
Rizwan(wkt)
Shadab/----------
Yasir
Shaheen
Abbas/---------------
Naseem/------------
 
Shoaibbtt said:
All very good choices but still think we haven't fully seen anything from Fawad yet. I still think 2 innings is too quick to judge someone yet. I also feel that majority of our games are played in Asian conditions and so he should be trialed there also before being booted.
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He can do okay in Asian conditions, but you have to think about the future of this team. Pakistan's goal should be to win overseas matches in SENA to get to the top of the Test table. Fawad Alam will never help to accomplish that.
 
Rayyman said:
If you are playing with 6 batsmen, then the Babar will bat at #4 and Haris at #5.

I would rather play a youngster at #6 than Fawad Alam. Preferably Saud Shakeel, but Saad Ali, Usman Salahuddin and Agha Salman can also be tried.
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I forgot Abdullah Shafique, he is a good young batsman.

Ideally you would select Saud or Shafique because they are strokemakers. Not accumulators like Usman and Saad.
 
Rayyman said:
He can do okay in Asian conditions, but you have to think about the future of this team. Pakistan's goal should be to win overseas matches in SENA to get to the top of the Test table. Fawad Alam will never help to accomplish that.
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To be honest most of the tests for Pakistan are played on Asian conditions, i think to bolster your player's confidence you should've played him against SL and Bangladesh which Misbah didn't and opted for the latter. I still think there was some confidence shown in his second innings which makes me think he isn't far off from a big innings. It's too early to judge someone off of just 2 innings, i don't think that's fair and so i'm pretty confident management will probs keep a hold of him.

We'll see what the NZ series brings about, i doubt Haris going to that either.
 
Asad gets out way too conventionally each time for his own good. Pretty sure that's also his strength when he is batting in the nets or domestic circuit and the reason for him being 'ever-so-popular' in the team selection with mediocre contribution.

Absolutely wouldn't want him near the Test side if we are to rebuild the team. Completely different scenario if the PCB aren't really bothered about Tests and would oblige another 2 years with the 30 group.

Has to be dropped.
 
Firebat said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Horrible series for Asad Shafiq and there has to be question marks about his international future.<br><br>Innings 5<br>Runs 67<br>Average 13.40<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvPAK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1298302569207521281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Surely this is the end for Shafiq, looks absolutely finished. Couldn't get a score in the dying embers of the match as it was petering out to a draw, lost his wicket to the part time rubbish before the new ball. No career saving soft 50.

So it begs the question, if he is to be replaced, who should inherit the #5 batting position from him in Tests for Pakistan?
Click to expand...


His spot should go to Haris Sohail. Asad Shafiq was called the future of Pakistan's batting all the while he played under the shadow of Younis Khan and Misbah. He has been given a whole test career only for a promise that never came good. I don't see how Asad Shafiq can fix himself after playing 77 test matches. Even if you don't consider age as a factor, 77 test matches is enough to see the maximum capability of a player though. And it is just below par. Time to retire him from international cricket.
 
cricketAXEpert said:
His spot should go to Haris Sohail. Asad Shafiq was called the future of Pakistan's batting all the while he played under the shadow of Younis Khan and Misbah. He has been given a whole test career only for a promise that never came good. I don't see how Asad Shafiq can fix himself after playing 77 test matches. Even if you don't consider age as a factor, 77 test matches is enough to see the maximum capability of a player though. And it is just below par. Time to retire him from international cricket.
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Defo wouldnt go with Harris sohail hes been average.i would go with haider ali or omair bin yousuf
 
GreenKhan said:
Who ever gets a go needs a good run of about 5-6 tests. Not to be judged on one innings . We have a habit on this forum of writing off people after on innings .

Haider Ali is to raw for test cricket I feel . Should be given a run in limited overs cricket first .

Usman salahuddin and Saad Ali are good options . Fawad Alam needs to be persisted with for a few more tests . Not sure where Harris is with his fitness at the moment.

For the next series -

Shan-
Abid
Azhar
Babar
Fawad
Saad/ Usman /haris.

If Harris plays move Fawad to 6.
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I defo woulsnt play fawad or harris I'd go

Abdullah shafique haider ali omair bin yousuf
 
Slim said:
With Asad Shafiq we are effectively one man down. Anyone would do. Better to blood a young player such as Haider, Saud Shakeel.

Haris should be back with Fawad gone.

Azhar should be gone too ideally.
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All shafiq fawad and harris shouldn't be in the squad
 
Shan
Sami aslam imaam ul haq
Usman salahuddin
Babar
Omair bin yousuf abdullah shafique
Rizwan
Haider
Gohar
Shaheen
Naseem
Akif javed husnain
 
shamaan said:
I defo woulsnt play fawad or harris I'd go

Abdullah shafique haider ali omair bin yousuf
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I am baffled why you would want Abdullah Shafique. He has played only one first class match! Yes he got a 100 but it’s the most miniscule sample size on which to select a player for test cricket .

Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali deserve a run.
 
Saud Shakeel would be a good replacement. In the right age gap and a very classy batsman, who has a solid FC record. I doubt Asad is dropped though unfortunately.
 
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This youngster ( by MIsbah's definition ) needs some experience, he is very talented, lets persist with for another 4 years.
 
Azhar isn't going anywhere from the 3 spot. So temporarily at 5 use Harris Sohail and keep an eye out for a replacement, especially if Sohail can't keep his end of the bargain.

6 spot is up for grabs. In spin conditions, I think continue to develop Shadab as an all-rounder/2nd spin option. For pace conditions, we need to find a batting pace all-rounder who can give us 10-12 solid overs a day as the 4th pacer option.
 
Of course he should be dropped.

It's not even a question.

I would take any half decent specialist batsman over him. Ideally though no more scaredy-cats.
 
Anyone. Literally anyone.

But seriously, I don't think either Shafiq or Fawad should play going forward and the biggest reason is simply their age. They are far too old, past their primes and should be close to retiring instead of being persisted with.

Saud needs to be given a legitimate shot and Haris needs to be back on the team.
 
I like to look of Saud Shakeel personally. A classy batsman. As for Salahuddin, I would prefer him to come in No.3 mainly due to his SR in domestic cricket.
 
We need to keep him till they kick Misbah. Once Misbah is gone they can build a serious team.
 
these players need to be dropped permanently from the Pakistan cricket team:
Asad Lara Shafiq..
Aabid Ali..
Azhar Ali
Fawad Alam
Yasir Shah

And.....

Shan Masood..... Such a waste of spot.... imagine if he had not got those chances in ist inning of ist test... He could not have entered into double figures....
 
Yes shafiq must be dropped now ideally for Saud Shakeel who seems the right fit age and stats wise

We really need a young player in there who can develop into a good batsman over the next 2 years
 
Zaz said:
Yes shafiq must be dropped now ideally for Saud Shakeel who seems the right fit age and stats wise

We really need a young player in there who can develop into a good batsman over the next 2 years
Click to expand...

I have heard him but I's he better than the other youngsters
 
Mr Crickekter said:
these players need to be dropped permanently from the Pakistan cricket team:
Asad Lara Shafiq..
Aabid Ali..
Azhar Ali
Fawad Alam
Yasir Shah

And.....

Shan Masood..... Such a waste of spot.... imagine if he had not got those chances in ist inning of ist test... He could not have entered into double figures....
Click to expand...

Replace them with who
 
TeymurBlake said:
I like to look of Saud Shakeel personally. A classy batsman. As for Salahuddin, I would prefer him to come in No.3 mainly due to his SR in domestic cricket.
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Agreed on salahuddin babar should bat at 4 only after couple years should go at 3
 
The only thing I'd miss about Asad Shafiq is his slip catching. He's pretty reliable for a Pakistani fielder.
 
GreenKhan said:
I am baffled why you would want Abdullah Shafique. He has played only one first class match! Yes he got a 100 but it’s the most miniscule sample size on which to select a player for test cricket .

Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali deserve a run.
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Sad ali was average in the qaid e azam and usman salahuddin is suited to the number 3 position

If you look at Abdullah shafique he can play the cut pull short ball and straight down the ground yes hes only played 1 game but I fink he has alot of potentional
 
Mr Crickekter said:
Shafiq replace by Haider Ali
Azhar replace by Saud Shakeel
Aabid Ali replace by Abdullah Shafique
Fawad replace by Rohail Nazir/ Omair Masood/ Haris Sohail
Shan replace by zeeshan Malik/Imam ul Haq
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I agree with shafiq and haider
Azhar I'd replace him with salahuddin
Agree with abid ali
Fawad I'd replace with omair bin yousuf or malik
I'd keep shan at the moment
 
Asad Shafiq will not go anywhere he will retire with an average of 36 along with Azhar Ali,Just like Misbah and Younis retired at the same time.
 
Honestly a potted plant would be more durable under pressure than Shafiq.

I'd give Saud Shakeel or Usman Salahuddin a chance - these guys are being robbed of their prime years thanks to "Matchwinner".
 
Markhor said:
Honestly a potted plant would be more durable under pressure than Shafiq.

I'd give Saud Shakeel or Usman Salahuddin a chance - these guys are being robbed of their prime years thanks to "Matchwinner".
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I'd only have usman at number 3 due to his batting style
 
Technical and mental issues which have not been resolved.

He needs a break from international cricket and I'd get Haris in the side instead of him.
 
I think we need more left handers in this team

Shan
Abid
Imam/Haris
Babar
Haris/Saud
Rizwan

should be the top 6 moving forward. Would love if they arranged a test with Ireland at Malahide to test the youngsters.

Shan
Abid
Imam
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Shadab
Zafar
Shaheen
Abbas
Naseem
 
Yes Shafiq is a proven failure. An average of 38 after 77 matches is not good enough.

Whats even worse than him having that many Test matches is that he got 60 ODI matches, where he averages a whopping 24.70.
 
Saj said:
Technical and mental issues which have not been resolved.

He needs a break from international cricket and I'd get Haris in the side instead of him.
Click to expand...

Harris is average not that good tbh in tests
 
shamaan said:
Haider Ali,abdullah shafique,omair bin yousuf
Click to expand...

Harder Ali should play a season of first class cricket. There is no need to throw him in yet. If he fails it could ruin his confidence.

Not sure about the other 2. Haven't seen loads of them.
 
Hasan123 said:
Harder Ali should play a season of first class cricket. There is no need to throw him in yet. If he fails it could ruin his confidence.

Not sure about the other 2. Haven't seen loads of them.
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Haider ali should play in asain conditions to build his confidence he shouldn't be in the squad vs New Zealand.abdullah shafique has only played 1 game which he scored 100 but he plays 360.omair bin yousuf is a quality players bats like kohli
 
There were a few guys on here still advocating for Shafiq before the series began and one or two of these guys think of themselves as big master debaters.

I wonder what they think now. :))
 
Asad has played his last test for Pakistan, good career but like his ODI career it stalled completely
Should let him play in one of the t20s as a send off
 
I can see the management giving him another go in a UAE Test series but I would much rather him being dropped and a new young batsmen being given a chance. I haven't been following cricket much lately due to personal reasons and will be looking to keep up with it now like I used to but Haris should make his way back and if there is anyone who is monstrously talented from FC cricket or u19; an ability to bat for long and hunger for big tons home and away, then he should be given a go. Asad is too timid to continue on in International cricket.
 
Keep dreaming guys. He is going nowhere. There's soft runs to be had in upcoming series and you best believe he'll score just enough to keep him in for years to come.
 
He is not going anywhere because Azhar Ali made a century. Might sound weird but very clever by Azhar.
 
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.
 
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