"We will work on a combination where I will hopefully bat further up the order" : Asad Shafiq

[Abdullah719]

"We will work on a combination where I will hopefully bat further up the order" : Asad Shafiq

Asad Shafiq at a presser ahead of the first Test against SL:

"I dont think we will feel any pressure as Azhar Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed and I and a few others have all played 40-50 Tests around Misbah-ul-Haq & YK so we have good experience"

"Of course their services will be remembered forever but its upto us now to play with responsiibility"

"Not only in this game but our fitness regime will help us in the long term too"

"If our fitness levels have gone up in the last few years then the credit for that goes to the team as they have worked hard on it"

"If you look at the combination of batsmen, bowlers and spinner then you will see that this is a very balanced team"

"There will be good competitiion between players and the new batsmen will get a good chance to learn also"

"We are discussing my position in the batting order and we hope to sort that out soon"

"We will work on a combination where I will hopefully bat further up the batting order"

"Mir Hamza has been bowling really well and can swing the ball both ways and alsi has experience of bowling in these conditions"

"Rangana Herath is a world-class spinner but we tackled him well in the previous series"

"Sarfaraz has been leading the team really well as we have seen for the last 1 year"

"I have no doubt about his captaincy and he is a very aggressive captain"

 

[CadPakFan]

I think he should bat at number 3 and replace Babar Azam after this series is Babar doesn't perform because Babar has been countless oppurtunities at number 3 while Asad has only been given a handful.

So my top 7 would be

Sami
Azhar
Shafiq
Haris
Salahuddin
Babar
Sarfraz

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Hopefully this allows him to open up a bit more, he actually has plenty of strokes just almost always goes into his shell

 

[Saj]

I just find it comforting knowing Asad will bat at 6 and I would rather he stayed there especially if 2 newbies are going to bat at 4 and 5.

I don't see why he has to move up the order if he's doing so well at number 6.

 

[Slog]

I just find it comforting knowing Asad will bat at 6 and I would rather he stayed there especially if 2 newbies are going to bat at 4 and 5.

I don't see why he has to move up the order if he's doing so well at number 6.

well in past year he hasnt done that well

 

[pakistani pride]

I just find it comforting knowing Asad will bat at 6 and I would rather he stayed there especially if 2 newbies are going to bat at 4 and 5.

I don't see why he has to move up the order if he's doing so well at number 6.

He isnt doing so well. Despite playing so many games in the UAE his record is very average.

He also goes missing when the pressure is on. Scores soft runs.

 

[Yaasir]

Asad seems to struggle against the new ball so I prefer he stays at 6 alongside the likes of Sarfaraz and the tail. I don't think he is ready to bat at 4 or 5. Having said that, I think the team management wants to put him up the order and ease in the debutant, whoever it may be, by making him bat at 6.

 

[hadi123]

He isnt doing so well. Despite playing so many games in the UAE his record is very average.

He also goes missing when the pressure is on. Scores soft runs.

The argument that Shafiq goes missing when the pressure is on is a very flawed one. In South Africa when he scored a century he came in when Pakistan's top order collapsed and we were already a few wickets down with very little runs on the board and he played a beautiful innings. Is that not a pressure situation?

Also, last year in the final test against England; it was a must win game as we were 2-1 down in the series and there was scoreboard pressure as England had batted first and made a decent score of 300+. He bounced back from a pair in the previous match and scored a very important century and that partnership he got with Younis Khan was, without a doubt, the match winning Partnership.

Let's not forget that incredible innings against Australia either

 

[Usman]

I just find it comforting knowing Asad will bat at 6 and I would rather he stayed there especially if 2 newbies are going to bat at 4 and 5.

I don't see why he has to move up the order if he's doing so well at number 6.

I disagree with this. Batting at 6 means he'll be hiding behind untested youngsters. It's time for Shafiq to stand up and lead. It's time for Azhar to stand up and lead. Inshallah Shafiq and Azhar will become our next Misbah and Younus (Azhar in fact is better than Misbah). Inshallah Harris, Usman and Baber will in turn be our next Azhar, Shafiq plus 1!

Where we will fail is if we invest more time and energy in the likes of Shan Masood. If Harris or Usman miss out for him, well that would be a joke.

 

[Hamza_]

Shafiq should bat at #5

Azhar
Sami
Babar
Haris
Shafiq
Usman
Sarfraz

 

[Suleiman]

I have lost quite a bit of faith in him in recent times. Think he should stay at 6. He's definitely not the most mentally tough in the team, and I'm not sure he'll do better with more responsibility higher up the order. I'd rather Usman bat at 4 or 5. It's in the UAE vs a depleted Sri Lanka after all, perfect opportunity to debut a newbie in the top/middle order.

 

[Pete Rose]

All that is fine and well...but there's no denying he has regressed dramatically over the last 8/9 tests.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Hopefully not. Just stick with batting at 6 and let guys like Sohail and Usman who have more upside bat higher.

 

[waleed88]

I just find it comforting knowing Asad will bat at 6 and I would rather he stayed there especially if 2 newbies are going to bat at 4 and 5.

I don't see why he has to move up the order if he's doing so well at number 6.

Because he is not a tailender/allrounder ; i.e most of the top run getters who he has been competing against at 6 are allrounders. He is a top order batsman who was forced to play down the order, and when given the chance we scored 1 century and 3 50s in that position before he was demoted for a couple of 0s vs West Indies

 

[pakistani pride]

The argument that Shafiq goes missing when the pressure is on is a very flawed one. In South Africa when he scored a century he came in when Pakistan's top order collapsed and we were already a few wickets down with very little runs on the board and he played a beautiful innings. Is that not a pressure situation?

Also, last year in the final test against England; it was a must win game as we were 2-1 down in the series and there was scoreboard pressure as England had batted first and made a decent score of 300+. He bounced back from a pair in the previous match and scored a very important century and that partnership he got with Younis Khan was, without a doubt, the match winning Partnership.

Let's not forget that incredible innings against Australia either

How many 100s resulted in a win?
What about his overall record?

He doesnt have the mindset. Goes into block mode more often then not.

 

[kingusama92]

Shafiq never fills you with confidence as a fan.

I'd imagine it's the same as a coach/captain.

Every innings is hit and miss even when he's in great form. You never want to build a batting order around someone like this.

In comparison, Azhar Ali never gives off that vibe. He's rock solid and consistent in all scenarios despite being less gifted.

I'd push him to #5.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

And hopefully you will finally score big consistently.

 

[shariqnoor]

Asad should bat at his original spot i.e. 6. I think only one of Haris or Usman will play given Sami, Shan will be our openers. My batting lineup would be:

1. Sami
2. Shan
3. Azhar
4. Babar
5. Haris/Usman
6. Asad

I don't want Haris/Usman to bat at 6 and ultimately get stuck with the tail. That would be putting too much pressure on them.

 

[Major]

I just find it comforting knowing Asad will bat at 6 and I would rather he stayed there especially if 2 newbies are going to bat at 4 and 5.

I don't see why he has to move up the order if he's doing so well at number 6.

Cricket stakehokders in pakistan dont realize the importance of lower order batting.

Guys likhe dhoni and misbah use to save their team from the bottom.

The last odi series dhoni did it for his team.

Players are usually trying to bat up the order abd below

 

[hadi123]

How many 100s resulted in a win?
What about his overall record?

He doesnt have the mindset. Goes into block mode more often then not.

How many 100s resulted in a win? Cricket is a team game and you can't pin the blame on him if he scores a century and we lose. His highest test score is 137 against New Zealand in that match we lost but was ultimately overshadowed by Phil Hughes' death. We lost quite convincingly but how is that Shafiq's fault? If you look at the scorecard from that match you will see how many low scores there were from some of our batsmen. That brilliant century against Australia in the day night match we fell agonizingly short but because we lost you are basically saying he doesn't deserve credit.
He has scored a lot of centuries but I am not going to build on each and every one as I don't have time. At the end of the day, cricket is a team game and majority of the times one player's century won't lead you to a victory if the other 10 players don't do their bit. I admit that Shafiq can be frustrating but he has a very good test average with a large sample size as he has played more than 50 test matches in a lot of different conditions. Also there are not many other good alternatives who could take his place. Shafiq is a good test player and I don't think he deserves the criticism he gets on this thread.

 

[Hasan123]

Time for him to step up. I would bat at him 4 or 5.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Unlike most people I've got a feeling he'll do very well up the order, Insha'Allah.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Time for him to score big and replace younis at no.4

 

[Amjid Javed]

Should move down to number 5 with newbies slotting in at 4 and 6 either side of him.