Which format(s) should Abdullah Shafique play for Pakistan?

[Mamoon]

Four consecutive ducks. He is the true heir to Azhar/Shafiq - a mental midget with fake technique and nervous body language.

Not good enough for LOIs and will average 35-40 in Tests at a SR of 40 in the long term.

Poor, poor player.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Abdullah Shafique last 4 T20I scores:<br><br>0<br>0<br>0<br>0<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvAFG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvAFG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1640024769033654276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Head position and falling over to the off-side is a clear problem for Abdullah Shafique at the start of his innings <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvAFG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvAFG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/e2FPSscbOZ">pic.twitter.com/e2FPSscbOZ</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1640025695807062016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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[JAV12341]

Absolutely atrocious shocking player. Jus not cut out for international cricket like the rest of the Pakistani batsmen. I rate Imad Wasim more than this fraud of a batter. Just looks soo meak and scared. 4 ducks in a row hang your head in shame

 

[Saj]

I don't want him anywhere near the T20I side.

I want him to succeed in Test cricket which I think is his strongest format and the format where he could be a very reliable player for Pakistan.

Some bad habits creeping into his batting at the moment which he needs to work on.

 

[Concerned]

Wow four consecutive 0 is some feat.

 

[Barragan]

Still don't know why he is in the T20 team.

 

[offstump]

To answer the original question, he should not be playing in this format whatsoever. Suddenly Shan Masood doesn’t even look that bad of an option when you stack him up against this guy.

 

[Saj]

Still don't know why he is in the T20 team.

Because he did quite well in the PSL I guess.

But as I've always said, I don't want him in the Pakistan T20I side.

 

[Savak]

Mentally weak player. He habitually gets out on first balls. His body language tells you how nervous he is early on at the crease. He needs to be dropped and be told by the selectors to show better body language and show proof he can dominate from ball one. You can't be a mental midget when early on in your innings at the international level.

 

[Kroll]

I'll still back him to come good (once he gets off zero).

 

[sweep_shot]

He should stick to Test for now.

He has been a flop in T20.

 

[Kroll]

He should stick to Test for now.

He has been a flop in T20.

He was good in PSL, 4 consecutive zeros is just freakish. Would like to see how he does once he gets the duck monkey off his back.

 

[topspin]

I'll still back him to come good (once he gets off zero).

I agree. There aren't many players in Pakistan who are as technically sound as he is. If he can build on his confidence, he is Babar with better power hitting.

 

[Saj]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Head position and falling over to the off-side is a clear problem for Abdullah Shafique at the start of his innings <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvAFG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvAFG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/e2FPSscbOZ">pic.twitter.com/e2FPSscbOZ</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1640025695807062016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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This is very basic stuff.

A simple flaw that any decent bowler will pick upon.

It needs sorting out and quick!

 

[reversehook]

wow is this guy trying to say why the hell did you select a timid player like me.... guy was scared and his face and body language showed... what a shame, had high hopes from him...

 

[The_KING]

These are his last 8 scores in test cricket, which is meant to be his best format.

14, 24, 8, 26, 7, 17, 19, 0.

No 50+ score in his last 4 test matches, which weren't played on the Rawalpindi pitch, which has to be the worst pitch in international cricket.

So it seems as if this meek and timid character can only score runs on the disgraceful flat pitches of Rawalpindi.

He is yet another overhyped player that our fans have overhyped because he had a good start to his career. When will our fans learn to not overhype players so swiftly?

 

[Hawkeye]

Needs to forget about bad past performances.

Can come good once he gets rid of this mental block.

 

[amvbfm]

As others have said seems more of a mental block than a skill or technique issue. One good innings can put him back on track as he has all the required qualities. Might be a better option to play him in ODIs and Tests and then bring him back, if needed, once he regains his confidence.

 

[PakEngFan]

These are his last 8 scores in test cricket, which is meant to be his best format.

14, 24, 8, 26, 7, 17, 19, 0.

No 50+ score in his last 4 test matches, which weren't played on the Rawalpindi pitch, which has to be the worst pitch in international cricket.

So it seems as if this meek and timid character can only score runs on the disgraceful flat pitches of Rawalpindi.

He is yet another overhyped player that our fans have overhyped because he had a good start to his career. When will our fans learn to not overhype players so swiftly?

Yes let’s ignore the 160 against Sri Lanka.

 

[Saj]

On the positive side - at least it wasn't 5 T20I ducks in a row.

On the negative side - an absolutely horrible slog. Totally misread the googly.

 

[Energy]

He needs to be persisted with. Will come good.

 

[MenInG]

Abdullah looked good but needs to choose his battles carefully.

<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="2EHIP0d"><a href="https://imgur.com/2EHIP0d">View post on imgur.com</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Slim]

Abdullah when in the zone is an absolute pleasure to watch. Such a smooth hitter of the ball. I really want him to succeed in limited overs. Should be persisted with.

 

[shamaan]

I will still pick him in the New Zealand squad.Played a good Innings but a stupid shot to get himself out.

 

[Bilal7]

He has the makings of a world class player. No mentally weak player would have played the kind of innings he did today, when coming off of four consecutive ducks.

He has the shots and the temperament to be successful in all three formats.

 

[PakEngFan]

I back Saim ayub, Mohammed Haris and Abdullah to come good eventuality. Going forward I would want this team for t20s
Babar
Saim
Rizwan
Haris
Abdullah
Ifti
Imad
Shadab
Shaheen
Haris rauf
Ihsanullah

Can replace one of the quicks with Nawaz depending on the conditions.

 

[SalimBhai]

I would persist with him. When he is in the zone. He looks amazing. I would give me 10-20 more games. All three format player

 

[GreenKhan]

Scores of 0, 0 and 21 dont read well whichever way you look at it.

The 21 runs today showed his potential, but given his previous 4 innings in the format which read 0,0,0,0 he really should capitalised further today .
I would say given his PSL exploits his stock went down and scored the least runs amongst the top 4 in the series .

 

[Energy]

Abdullah is the second best batter after Babar and he will come good.

Yes, he looked timid before the PSL but now I think he will get his confidence back. Well done to Qalandars for giving him the opportunity as he could have easily been discarded.

 

[MenInG]

Topic is about Abdullah Shafique. Lets stick to it.

 

[Jazx]

Test and ODIs suits him best.

 

[Savak]

Very poor nervous starter. Big teams will smell blood when he first arrives at the crease.

 

[MenInG]

Should he have been included in the XI for the game against Sri Lanka?

What's the point of having him in this tournament?

 

[hassan918]

He should definitely be a part of the test side and may be to the ODI side as well in case Imam-ul-Haq gets some kind of injury or he badly gets out of form. I think we need to have a technically strong batsman at the top with Fakhar Zaman or may be Mohammad Haris.

 

[Saj]

The curious case of Abdullah Shafique in ODIs:

Keeps getting picked in ODI squads
His last ODI was May 3rd
He has only played 3 ODIs

Either he's an ODI player or he isn't. The think-tank need to decide.

 

[MenInG]

And he gets a chance, presumably because Saud has fever.