Shubman Gill versus Abdullah Shafique

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Gill is way more talented than Abdul Guy. Unfortunately can’t find a place in the 11 due to the talent of India

Gill’s 90 in Aus is greater than anything Abdul has and will ever do in his career.

Hence Gill > Abdul

Lol what? Gill could have easily played in place of Pujara and Rahane but for that to happen he has to improve his average first. He averages just 32 after 10 tests. If KL Rahul can play 43 tests with that pathetic average then so can Gill.

 

[silentkiller187]

Shubnam Gill with an impressive innings in the IPL today against Punjab Kings. 74 of 42 currently, on course for a century.

 

[Rajdeep]

Top class batting from Gill. I am so happy to see him bat this way. Looks like he is taking Babar Azam approach in T20 cricket...no aerial shots, no ugly improvisation, all proper cricket shots down the ground and most importantly not throwing his wicket away. I always wanted Gill to bat this way and not try to become like Rishab Pant which is not his game. He need to become selfish. If Gill starts batting selfishly, he will be in Indian team across all formats.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

I do not know about the stats for comparisons between the two. but i sincerely hope Shubhman Gill remains pure, he places Test cricket on a pedestal which it deserves and his technique, psyche , mindset does not get affected/corrupted by the overdose of the andu shandu jhandu t20 leagues , and he reserves his best for test cricket.
End of the day people remember you for what you did in tests, everyone has already forgotten who did what in the T20 league game last night.

 

[Smbhayi]

I do not know about the stats for comparisons between the two. but i sincerely hope Shubhman Gill remains pure, he places Test cricket on a pedestal which it deserves and his technique, psyche , mindset does not get affected/corrupted by the overdose of the andu shandu jhandu t20 leagues , and he reserves his best for test cricket.
End of the day people remember you for what you did in tests, everyone has already forgotten who did what in the T20 league game last night.

Tewatia did Tewatia thing.. against Punjab.. against Caribbean bowler..

 

[Ab Fan]

Gill is a quality batsman, he should play at 3 in tests and ODIs both.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

Tewatia did Tewatia thing.. against Punjab.. against Caribbean bowler..

By the end of IPL, will be long forgotten

 

[Mobashir]

Gill’s 91 on day 5 to help India chase down 329 at the Gabba will probably tower over anything that Shafique’s achieves in his career.

One can only laugh at the delusional assessment that Shafique is ahead of Gill and has had a better star to his career.

Shafique won’t even make India’s bench at this point. Even Imran Butt would have scored a hundred on this pitch.

So are you laughing now? I don't know if Abdullah Shafique is ahead of any Indian batsman, but one thing is sure, Gill is behind everyone in the world.

Don't know if his average is still on the right side of the 30's.

 

[shamaan]

So are you laughing now? I don't know if Abdullah Shafique is ahead of any Indian batsman, but one thing is sure, Gill is behind everyone in the world.

Don't know if his average is still on the right side of the 30's.

Gill is a good player but Abdullah is better.
Abdullah needs to work on his playing of spin and will be tested hugely against Sri Lanka.

 

[ChTab]

Gill is a good player but Abdullah is better.
Abdullah needs to work on his playing of spin and will be tested hugely against Sri Lanka.

So far Abdullah has played 3 tests on dead pitches in Pakistan & 2 test in Bangladesh. His 1st real test will be in SL the tour will be a success for him if he manages to score at an average of 45+

ATM you cannot say that he is better than Gill. Gill has played under far more testing conditions vs much better sides.

 

[shamaan]

So far Abdullah has played 3 tests on dead pitches in Pakistan & 2 test in Bangladesh. His 1st real test will be in SL the tour will be a success for him if he manages to score at an average of 45+

ATM you cannot say that he is better than Gill. Gill has played under far more testing conditions vs much better sides.

Gill has played in both conditions and averaged less than 30.
Abdullah played against a world class attack in Australia even if the conditions were flat.

 

[ChTab]

Gill has played in both conditions and averaged less than 30.
Abdullah played against a world class attack in Australia even if the conditions were flat.

Abdullah has played WC Australian side on dead wickets in Pakistan if this was other way around I would have said that Abdullah is better. So for now I'd like to see more of Abdullah in tougher conditions before making a statement.

Abdullah's debut series was vs Bangladesh hardly a challenge even at their home.

Abdullah second series was vs Australia in Pakistan where he performed very well vs a WC attack but the wickets were really really really flat with nothing for bowlers.

 

[Mobashir]

I don't know how these 30 averaging batsmen from India average so high in their domestic.
Gill was averaging 70+. He is probably a good batsman but still. The likes of Iyer, Vihari are mid 30 averaging batsmen but in indian domestic they are averaging over 50 with ease.

Gill, at least has age on his side and looks solid.

 

[ElRaja]

abdullah shafique has played 40 professional cricket games, shubman gill has played 180, they may be similar age but completely different levels of experience. its not really a fair comparison.

from what I've seen both have decent basics, real difference will be mental. so far gill looks to be finding his way in the long format, but even shafique has thrown his wicket away a few times.

gill will eventually become a middle order batsmen, maybe kohlis long term replacement. shafique will stay as an opener however.

 

[shamaan]

Abdullah has played WC Australian side on dead wickets in Pakistan if this was other way around I would have said that Abdullah is better. So for now I'd like to see more of Abdullah in tougher conditions before making a statement.

Abdullah's debut series was vs Bangladesh hardly a challenge even at their home.

Abdullah second series was vs Australia in Pakistan where he performed very well vs a WC attack but the wickets were really really really flat with nothing for bowlers.

I agree that thier wasn't much in the pitch but to get runs against a world class attack having little experience in international cricket shows that he has something about him.

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

Good runs from Safiqe this. But I still feel Gill is gonna take the lead once he starts playing more at home. Whereas safique will disappear once he starts playing in SENA

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Good runs from Safiqe this. But I still feel Gill is gonna take the lead once he starts playing more at home. Whereas safique will disappear once he starts playing in SENA

Or he can pull a Rohit Sharma and get injured at key moments and never disappear

 

[Hextro]

Good runs from Safiqe this. But I still feel Gill is gonna take the lead once he starts playing more at home. Whereas safique will disappear once he starts playing in SENA

Gill has had as many innings in India as Abdullah's entire career so far.

 

[Moeey]

Shafique is way better. Gill can't even play well in India

 

[90MPH]

Shafique has a much tighter technique than Gill.

Gill wafts outside off stump too much.

It’s too early for comparisons at this stage

 

[Titan24]

Good runs from Safiqe this. But I still feel Gill is gonna take the lead once he starts playing more at home. Whereas safique will disappear once he starts playing in SENA

Why do you feel he will disappear once he starts playing in SENA? Technique so far seems to be pretty compact, played reverse from Cummins and Starc pretty decently too in his debut series. So start seems to be pretty compact, of course difficult to predict future and how he plays on faster tracks but not sure if he has shown so many technical flaws that one can say he will disappear.

 

[Xoib]

Good runs from Safiqe this. But I still feel Gill is gonna take the lead once he starts playing more at home. Whereas safique will disappear once he starts playing in SENA

Technically he is the sound most sound young batsman in the world

 

[Mobashir]

Well Shafique is taking a clear lead here.
If he goes on to win this match then it is going to be an innings for the ages. It will be an incredible achievement so young in his career.

 

[Ab Fan]

What happened? Did Shafique hit a century in 4th inning in match winning cause?

 

[ChTab]

Incredible start to his test career, hope he could cement his place in test XI for at least next 10 years & end up as ATG at least for Pakistan.

 

[Xoib]

What happened? Did Shafique hit a century in 4th inning in match winning cause?

Neither did Gill.

 

[Rana]

What happened? Did Shafique hit a century in 4th inning in match winning cause?

Wait until Shafique bats on a flat pancake on the 4th innings at the Gabba

 

[shariqnoor]

Abdullah Shafique is a mentally timid batsman afraid to go after the bowling once set. He's Azhar Ali 2.0. He's young which is why he's able to concentrate for a longer period of time and is able to make big runs than Azhar Ali.

But he's going to get old and his concentration levels will drop. The reflexes will wane. At that time, him playing at 35 SR is going to become his liability. Look at Azhar Ali now. Cannot buy a run with his stupid approach to batting. Look at Pujara. Same issue with him.

The mindset you develop at the start of your career remains till life. Extremely difficult to change that later on in life. If Abdullah Shafique thinks that batting at 35 SR is the way to go for him in Test matches, then his decline in Test cricket once he becomes 32 years old is going to be swift.

He may have stroked a century but he easily could've added 40 more runs had he learned from watching Younis Khan and Inzamam ul Haq on how they accelerated once they reached 50.

 

[MenInG]

Abdullah Shafique is a mentally timid batsman afraid to go after the bowling once set. He's Azhar Ali 2.0. He's young which is why he's able to concentrate for a longer period of time and is able to make big runs than Azhar Ali.

But he's going to get old and his concentration levels will drop. The reflexes will wane. At that time, him playing at 35 SR is going to become his liability. Look at Azhar Ali now. Cannot buy a run with his stupid approach to batting. Look at Pujara. Same issue with him.

The mindset you develop at the start of your career remains till life. Extremely difficult to change that later on in life. If Abdullah Shafique thinks that batting at 35 SR is the way to go for him in Test matches, then his decline in Test cricket once he becomes 32 years old is going to be swift.

He may have stroked a century but he easily could've added 40 more runs had he learned from watching Younis Khan and Inzamam ul Haq on how they accelerated once they reached 50.

Think you wrote this post few days ago. Nothing about him today was timid.

 

[PakEngFan]

Abdullah Shafique is a mentally timid batsman afraid to go after the bowling once set. He's Azhar Ali 2.0. He's young which is why he's able to concentrate for a longer period of time and is able to make big runs than Azhar Ali.

But he's going to get old and his concentration levels will drop. The reflexes will wane. At that time, him playing at 35 SR is going to become his liability. Look at Azhar Ali now. Cannot buy a run with his stupid approach to batting. Look at Pujara. Same issue with him.

The mindset you develop at the start of your career remains till life. Extremely difficult to change that later on in life. If Abdullah Shafique thinks that batting at 35 SR is the way to go for him in Test matches, then his decline in Test cricket once he becomes 32 years old is going to be swift.

He may have stroked a century but he easily could've added 40 more runs had he learned from watching Younis Khan and Inzamam ul Haq on how they accelerated once they reached 50.

Who shall we replace him with?

 

[ChTab]

Abdullah Shafique is a mentally timid batsman afraid to go after the bowling once set. He's Azhar Ali 2.0. He's young which is why he's able to concentrate for a longer period of time and is able to make big runs than Azhar Ali.

But he's going to get old and his concentration levels will drop. The reflexes will wane. At that time, him playing at 35 SR is going to become his liability. Look at Azhar Ali now. Cannot buy a run with his stupid approach to batting. Look at Pujara. Same issue with him.

The mindset you develop at the start of your career remains till life. Extremely difficult to change that later on in life. If Abdullah Shafique thinks that batting at 35 SR is the way to go for him in Test matches, then his decline in Test cricket once he becomes 32 years old is going to be swift.

He may have stroked a century but he easily could've added 40 more runs had he learned from watching Younis Khan and Inzamam ul Haq on how they accelerated once they reached 50.

Nothing timid in his batting today. When he walked out to bat Pakistan needed 342 runs in almost 2 days of play so he didn't needed to play at a fast pace, he batted perfectly & because of his innings Pakistan have a realistic chance of wining this game.

 

[Ab Fan]

Wait until Shafique bats on a flat pancake on the 4th innings at the Gabba

Gabba vs Australia in a Test match? Yeah, I would take that over this anyday.

Nevertheless, not gonna derail this thread. Good knock from Shafique, credit where due.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

poor ******* .... wait until Gull shilll can score runs on any surface .... then talk

Abd Shafiq is miles ahead of him due to his runs scored in difficult situations ... 4thinnings, mountain of runs.. pressure and crumbling pitch,,, Gill will b a walking wicket... and this Danggar Doctor thinkins he is better than Babar and of class of Sachin / Kholi ... watt jokers we have here

 

[Rana]

Think you wrote this post few days ago. Nothing about him today was timid.

But he did drop his strike rate from close to 50 to around 40 near the time of Babar’s wicket.

I think he will improve with confidence but Shariqnoor is pretty much correct atm

 

[shariqnoor]

Abdullah Shafique reached 50 off 94 balls (SR of 53). Excellent job.

Ends the day on 112 off 289 (SR of 39).

He scored his next 62 runs off 195 balls after reaching 50 at a SR of 32.

That's literally the definition of being timid. Either you don't have the talent to raise your game or you are too scared to do it. It has to be one of the two.

At the cost of repeating myself, these things will get overlooked because of the volume of the runs you score right now, but once you make this a habit and get older, these things will come to haunt you as you struggle to score runs. You just have to see live examples of Azhar Ali and Pujara.

Pakistan could've easily won this match had Abdullah Shafique not even accelerated but maintained his SR of 53 after he scored his 50. Abdullah Shafique's score right now would've been 153 and Pakistan would only be requiring 80 more runs to win.

So yes everything points to the timidity of Abdullah Shafique.

 

[Titan24]

Abdullah Shafique is a mentally timid batsman afraid to go after the bowling once set. He's Azhar Ali 2.0. He's young which is why he's able to concentrate for a longer period of time and is able to make big runs than Azhar Ali.

But he's going to get old and his concentration levels will drop. The reflexes will wane. At that time, him playing at 35 SR is going to become his liability. Look at Azhar Ali now. Cannot buy a run with his stupid approach to batting. Look at Pujara. Same issue with him.

The mindset you develop at the start of your career remains till life. Extremely difficult to change that later on in life. If Abdullah Shafique thinks that batting at 35 SR is the way to go for him in Test matches, then his decline in Test cricket once he becomes 32 years old is going to be swift.

He may have stroked a century but he easily could've added 40 more runs had he learned from watching Younis Khan and Inzamam ul Haq on how they accelerated once they reached 50.

Guy is playing his 6th test as an opener and made his debut after 3 FC matches. Expectations from a young batsman should be realistic. He has been extremely consistent for his age and stage of development which is already a big plus, as he matures and becomes more confident of his game his range of scoring will increase.

Younis Khan had a strike rate in early 40s in the first 4 years (26 off matches) of his career. You can’t skip the development part of any player and start comparing him straight away to a great when he was at his peak.

 

[shariqnoor]

Who shall we replace him with?

You don't need to replace him. You need to hammer sense into him that batting at a SR of under 40 in unacceptable. Especially when the pitch is spinning or seaming a lot.

 

[Rana]

He has fought hard for us and I hope he continues. If he fails early morning tomorrow, it will all be for nothing

 

[shariqnoor]

Younis Khan had a strike rate in early 40s in the first 4 years (26 off matches) of his career. You can’t skip the development part of any player and start comparing him straight away to a great when he was at his peak.

Factually untrue. Younis Khan's SR after then end of 2003 (his 4th year in intl. cricket) was 50.

In fact, after Younis's career SR first went above 50 in his 18th innings, it never dropped below 49.40 for the rest of his career.

So wrong example buddy

Here's the link for you to verify my statement

http://www.howstat.com/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBat.asp?PlayerID=2211

 

[ssuhaide]

Factually untrue. Younis Khan's SR after then end of 2003 (his 4th year in intl. cricket) was 50.

In fact, after Younis's career SR first went above 50 in his 18th innings, it never dropped below 49.40 for the rest of his career.

So wrong example buddy

Here's the link for you to verify my statement

http://www.howstat.com/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBat.asp?PlayerID=2211

A bit unfair to compare one of the great Pakistani bats to Shafique. The chap has limitations with scoring rate but he is scoring heavily and given how few matches he has played I personally have no issue with it.

 

[Titan24]

Factually untrue. Younis Khan's SR after then end of 2003 (his 4th year in intl. cricket) was 50.

In fact, after Younis's career SR first went above 50 in his 18th innings, it never dropped below 49.40 for the rest of his career.

So wrong example buddy

Here's the link for you to verify my statement

http://www.howstat.com/cricket/statistics/Players/PlayerProgressBat.asp?PlayerID=2211

Here you go buddy, his SR was 43, 48 and 42 in 3 out of his first 4 years. Yes it wasn’t in 40s as a aggregate.


You are talking about aggregate, even that went below 50 in his 27th and 30th test.

While Abdullah is just playing his 6th match and you are questioning his SR like he is playing his 50th match.

 

[topspin]

No brainer. Shubman Gill. He has all the shots and score at a good tempo against the best bowlers. I'm not convinced Abdullah Shafique can do the same at present. He has a lot of improving to do.

 

[Titan24]

[MENTION=141811]shariqnoor[/MENTION]

Abdullah’s SR after 6 matches is 40 while Younis’ was around 43 till his 9th match. Not to forget Abdullah is an opener and starts against the new ball. Younis developed his game and shots overtime like most top players do as the spend sometime in international arena. Not sure whats the future hold but, expectations from Abdullah are unrealistic. Yes cricket has changed but, there is no shortcut to develop players which takes time.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

No brainer. Shubman Gill. He has all the shots and score at a good tempo against the best bowlers. I'm not convinced Abdullah Shafique can do the same at present. He has a lot of improving to do.

Which sides has he done that again?

Abdullah has a century against Australia and if he leads us to this win a huge century in a pressure spot.

 

[Xoib]

So Abdullah if he is not as good as Younis Khan arguably our greatest ever test batsman then he's a failure.

What is the IQ level of some of the posters on this forum this argument is as dumb as it gets

 

[topspin]

Which sides has he done that again?

Abdullah has a century against Australia and if he leads us to this win a huge century in a pressure spot.

Oh please, those were the flattest wickets in living memory.

Shubman Gill averaged 51 in 3 tests against the best pace attack in the world in their backyard. He scored runs at a fantastic tempo as well, as evident by his strike rate of 60.

He hasn't had any chances to play on super flat wickets against mediocre opposition like Pakistan have.

 

[shariqnoor]

A bit unfair to compare one of the great Pakistani bats to Shafique. The chap has limitations with scoring rate but he is scoring heavily and given how few matches he has played I personally have no issue with it.

Where have I compared Abdullah Shafique to Younis Khan? I was just responding to Titan's comment where he said Younis Khan was also striking in early 40s after 4 years in intl. cricket which was factually untrue.

 

[PakEngFan]

I bet 90% of the posters calling him limited haven’t seen him play outside tests. He’s far from limited as a batsmen.

 

[shariqnoor]

Here you go buddy, his SR was 43, 48 and 42 in 3 out of his first 4 years. Yes it wasn’t in 40s as a aggregate.
View attachment 116534

You are talking about aggregate, even that went below 50 in his 27th and 30th test.

While Abdullah is just playing his 6th match and you are questioning his SR like he is playing his 50th match.

yaar c'mon. Now you're picking individual years and saying look, YK SR is only 43. In 2017, YK SR is 44. Should we now say that after 17 years of intl cricket, YK was only striking at 44?

Of course you look at aggregates. There is a world of difference between a SR of 40 and a SR of 49. That 9% differential would've gotten Azhar Ali additional 700 runs in his career.

The only thing I agree with is Shafique is early in his career and has time to correct this. That is exactly why I am saying that he needs to accelerate once he reaches 50. If he instead goes into reverse mode where his SR actually deteriorates after reaching a milestone, he will end up Azhar Ali 2.0.

 

[IMMY69]

Abdullah Shafique reached 50 off 94 balls (SR of 53). Excellent job.

Ends the day on 112 off 289 (SR of 39).

He scored his next 62 runs off 195 balls after reaching 50 at a SR of 32.

That's literally the definition of being timid. Either you don't have the talent to raise your game or you are too scared to do it. It has to be one of the two.

At the cost of repeating myself, these things will get overlooked because of the volume of the runs you score right now, but once you make this a habit and get older, these things will come to haunt you as you struggle to score runs. You just have to see live examples of Azhar Ali and Pujara.

Pakistan could've easily won this match had Abdullah Shafique not even accelerated but maintained his SR of 53 after he scored his 50. Abdullah Shafique's score right now would've been 153 and Pakistan would only be requiring 80 more runs to win.

So yes everything points to the timidity of Abdullah Shafique.

Comical post of the week!

 

[shamaan]

Good runs from Safiqe this. But I still feel Gill is gonna take the lead once he starts playing more at home. Whereas safique will disappear once he starts playing in SENA

Looking at his stats nothing suggests that.

 

[shariqnoor]

Comical post of the week!

Ofcourse. Everything looks comical, until it isn't.

I use to say the same when Azhar was smashing 100s at 35 SR and stalling the momentum but time proved me right about him. If Shafique continues the way he is playing, he will end up with the same. We will just have to wait and come back to this a few years down the line.

 

[shamaan]

You don't need to replace him. You need to hammer sense into him that batting at a SR of under 40 in unacceptable. Especially when the pitch is spinning or seaming a lot.

He can bat at 30 strike rate aslong as he score runs that's fine by me.

 

[shamaan]

So Abdullah if he is not as good as Younis Khan arguably our greatest ever test batsman then he's a failure.

What is the IQ level of some of the posters on this forum this argument is as dumb as it gets

People are so dumb and negative and then we complain when we get parachi players.

 

[shamaan]

Oh please, those were the flattest wickets in living memory.

Shubman Gill averaged 51 in 3 tests against the best pace attack in the world in their backyard. He scored runs at a fantastic tempo as well, as evident by his strike rate of 60.

He hasn't had any chances to play on super flat wickets against mediocre opposition like Pakistan have.

Australia pitches are not flat?

 

[shamaan]

No brainer. Shubman Gill. He has all the shots and score at a good tempo against the best bowlers. I'm not convinced Abdullah Shafique can do the same at present. He has a lot of improving to do.

Abdullah can score at a good temp we just haven't seen it yet in tests.

 

[IMMY69]

Ofcourse. Everything looks comical, until it isn't.

I use to say the same when Azhar was smashing 100s at 35 SR and stalling the momentum but time proved me right about him. If Shafique continues the way he is playing, he will end up with the same. We will just have to wait and come back to this a few years down the line.

I fear this is going to be massive waste of time.
But I'll give it one go.


Shafiq looks a proper batsman.
His technique is very good.
He has shown ability to score quickly in T20's and if he works hard will only get better.
He has a lot of time on his hands.

You're no oracle so let's be clear here.
90pct or Pakistani Cricket fans will tell you that they think Azhar destroys momentum.
He started his career as a leggie and made it as batsman by blocking the hell out of it in difficult conditions (England 2010).

Anyone can compare apples to oranges and come out with some silly list like yours.

The kid, and I will highlight this again, THE KID averages 6& after 6 tests and looks like a very good prospect... he's just scored a century is remain unbeaten and you're talking about strike rates?

There... that's all. Good night

 

[Bewal Express]

The best of Gill will come when he bats at 4, but AS has made a great start and looks to be a man going places. We are weary because so many PK batsman start well and go totally off the rails. Hopefully he won't be one of those.

 

[shamaan]

The best of Gill will come when he bats at 4, but AS has made a great start and looks to be a man going places. We are weary because so many PK batsman start well and go totally off the rails. Hopefully he won't be one of those.

I honestly don't think it will happen with Shafque he's level headed and has Babar to keep him on the toes.

 

[Rana]

Ofcourse. Everything looks comical, until it isn't.

I use to say the same when Azhar was smashing 100s at 35 SR and stalling the momentum but time proved me right about him. If Shafique continues the way he is playing, he will end up with the same. We will just have to wait and come back to this a few years down the line.

Shafique is currently getting away with it because he is new (22 years old) and Pakistan wouldn’t mind an opener who can stick around considering how poor Imran Butt and Shan Masood have been. Also how Sami Aslam deserted them and Imam ul Haq may not actually be a long term Test solution.

At some point he will have to be brave and bat free flow the way Khwaja and Warner did in the Pakistan series on the same tracks. He will have to play his strong shots when they are offered to him instead of being happy with the 35 strike rate. AS is an all format batsman, as such it isn’t acceptable for him to be happy with such a slow approach in Tests when he will become a 120+ strike rate player in T20s and a 100 strike rate player in 50 over cricket

 

[Rana]

One thing I have to admire about Babar Azam is that he was always a 50+ strike rate player in Test cricket even from his very early matches in the UAE, where guys like Misbah and Azhar were totally fine with a run rate of 2.5

This is why he would get out more often for cheap scores because he wasn’t as timid as defensive as the others around him.

Abdullah is yet to show that free flow nature in his batting. At the moment he seems dead focused on doing whatever it takes to nailing down his spot for the next 5 years at least with regular big scores

 

[shamaan]

One thing I have to admire about Babar Azam is that he was always a 50+ strike rate player in Test cricket even from his very early matches in the UAE, where guys like Misbah and Azhar were totally fine with a run rate of 2.5

This is why he would get out more often for cheap scores because he wasn’t as timid as defensive as the others around him.

Abdullah is yet to show that free flow nature in his batting. At the moment he seems dead focused on doing whatever it takes to nailing down his spot for the next 5 years at least with regular big scores

Abdullah Shafique has to cement his position before he can start to dominate otherwise he will be out the door.

 

[Moeey]

I don't know how these 30 averaging batsmen from India average so high in their domestic.
Gill was averaging 70+. He is probably a good batsman but still. The likes of Iyer, Vihari are mid 30 averaging batsmen but in indian domestic they are averaging over 50 with ease.

Gill, at least has age on his side and looks solid.

Actually check his international level average In India. It's 29.

 

[Moeey]

Oh please, those were the flattest wickets in living memory.

Shubman Gill averaged 51 in 3 tests against the best pace attack in the world in their backyard. He scored runs at a fantastic tempo as well, as evident by his strike rate of 60.

He hasn't had any chances to play on super flat wickets against mediocre opposition like Pakistan have.

Since when are they best in the world lol. If anything Indian attack is the best in the world going by numbers. Shafique is better. Check your Gill average in India in I ternatuonal games

 

[Usman Chadda]

From whatever I have seen of both, Shubman Gill should not be an opener. He is a middle-order batsman, will get found out against good bowlers with the new ball. That debut series was a fluke, hasn’t reproduced those knocks after that series.

Abdullah should improve his SR, but it remains to be seen how he does in SENA in non-friendly conditions.

 

[pillionrider]

Saw Shafique yesterday for the first time I think. Can finally unerstand all the hype back when he had just one FC game. Seems like a textbook solid dependable type of batsman. A very good batsman. Will remain to see how he deals with bouncy pitches, unless he's already tackled that.

But Gill (despite his recent run) has the flair and pace of batting that makes him someone you'd keep things aside and look forward to watching.

So the Indian in me picks Gill

 

[Ab Fan]

Gill > Shafique > Shaw

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Oh please, those were the flattest wickets in living memory.

Shubman Gill averaged 51 in 3 tests against the best pace attack in the world in their backyard. He scored runs at a fantastic tempo as well, as evident by his strike rate of 60.

He hasn't had any chances to play on super flat wickets against mediocre opposition like Pakistan have.

We we ignore the entire career?

21 innings. 4 fifties. 0 centuries.

Speaks for itself. And at home he averages 26.

I don’t have a problem saying long term Gill will be better based on technique but a couple of fifties in Australia don’t say that much when he has 21 other innings of mediocrity including plenty at home.

If Abdullah takes Pakistan home - it will be a huge accomplishment.

 

[Titan24]

yaar c'mon. Now you're picking individual years and saying look, YK SR is only 43. In 2017, YK SR is 44. Should we now say that after 17 years of intl cricket, YK was only striking at 44?

Of course you look at aggregates. There is a world of difference between a SR of 40 and a SR of 49. That 9% differential would've gotten Azhar Ali additional 700 runs in his career.

The only thing I agree with is Shafique is early in his career and has time to correct this. That is exactly why I am saying that he needs to accelerate once he reaches 50. If he instead goes into reverse mode where his SR actually deteriorates after reaching a milestone, he will end up Azhar Ali 2.0.

I myself have mentioned within the match thread that he ideally needs to start dictating terms to the bowling when he is set as I believe ye can do that with his range. So while I agree that he should be improving that aspect going forward but, let the guy settle at international level before demanding the fine tuning of the things which only come with experience as has been the case with many players coming into the circuit.

I don’t agree with your statement that “ The mindset you develop at the start of your career remains till life. Extremely difficult to change that later on in life”.

Mindset is a by product of the confidence you have at international level and the experience you have got. Azhar Ali was limited in terms of his shots and ability and Abdullah has much more range so hopefully once he is settled at this level we will see him playing his complete range.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Why do we have to compare the two, especially this early in their careers? Seems quite needless.

I think we should be happy that India and Pakistan have found perhaps two major future batting stars who posses the ability to carry their country's batting for years and years.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Shafique is in good form and averaging a lot higher than Gill currently.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Abdullah Shafique is a mentally timid batsman afraid to go after the bowling once set. He's Azhar Ali 2.0. He's young which is why he's able to concentrate for a longer period of time and is able to make big runs than Azhar Ali.

But he's going to get old and his concentration levels will drop. The reflexes will wane. At that time, him playing at 35 SR is going to become his liability. Look at Azhar Ali now. Cannot buy a run with his stupid approach to batting. Look at Pujara. Same issue with him.

The mindset you develop at the start of your career remains till life. Extremely difficult to change that later on in life. If Abdullah Shafique thinks that batting at 35 SR is the way to go for him in Test matches, then his decline in Test cricket once he becomes 32 years old is going to be swift.

He may have stroked a century but he easily could've added 40 more runs had he learned from watching Younis Khan and Inzamam ul Haq on how they accelerated once they reached 50.

Mentally timid batters are the likes of Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali (in his last few years) who perish as soon as the pressure comes in. Getting out on single digits while chasing or setting a target is called being timid or throwing your wicket away as soon as the bowling side close in on you. Holding your guard for 2-3 sessions is not being timid at all. You are confusing defensive batting with being timid. In that case would you call the likes Dravid, Kallis and Cook timid as well who maintained their SR below 45 throughout their test careers?

Plus it's too early to worry about slowing down of reflexes for a batter who is 22. Think that part will come 10 years from now. Till then, hope that the guy continues to improve and rectifies his mistakes cause there isn't any Saeed Anwar or Sehwag or Graeme Smith waiting in the wings.

 

[Bewal Express]

I honestly don't think it will happen with Shafque he's level headed and has Babar to keep him on the toes.

I am so desperate for him to become a World class batsman but only time will tell.

 

[pillionrider]

Shafique is in good form and averaging a lot higher than Gill currently.

Did you keep track of how many lives Shafique had in this innings, like you do with Pant?

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Did you keep track of how many lives Shafique had in this innings, like you do with Pant?

Kindly do not derail this thread with your useless trolling. Thanks.

 

[90MPH]

At this time it’s easily Shafique.

Like I said it’s a marathon not a sprint so we should have a better comparison in 2 years.

But Shafique is way ahead at the current time,, those that think Gill is ahead are living in alternative planet.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

At this time it’s easily Shafique.

Like I said it’s a marathon not a sprint so we should have a better comparison in 2 years.

But Shafique is way ahead at the current time,, those that think Gill is ahead are living in alternative planet.

Gill is not even a regular in the team these days. And he is averaging around 30 after 11 tests. Although he has 1 match winning knock to his name and he was the hero of Gabba test win.

 

[90MPH]

Gill is not even a regular in the team these days. And he is averaging around 30 after 11 tests. Although he has 1 match winning knock to his name and he was the hero of Gabba test win.

Gill looks very promising, but promising doesn’t mean he’s the finished article. He edges far too often to the slips whereas Shafique looks more solid in that area.

 

[Ab Fan]

At this time it’s easily Shafique.

Like I said it’s a marathon not a sprint so we should have a better comparison in 2 years.

But Shafique is way ahead at the current time,, those that think Gill is ahead are living in alternative planet.

You are right that Shafique is way ahead of Gill and Shaw both at current time.

However, ability and technique wise, the order is Gill > Shafique > Shaw

 

[pillionrider]

Gill looks very promising, but promising doesn’t mean he’s the finished article. He edges far too often to the slips whereas Shafique looks more solid in that area.

Shafique at least on this kind of subcontinental pitches looks like he has the superior technique, which traditional coaches would love. This is the only game of his I've watched, so no idea what his technique is like on SENA pitches. But it would be surprising if he is unable to cope there.

But as I said earlier, I'd prefer to watch Gill bat and hopefully it's not just because I'm Indian