Why is Asad Shafiq given the golden boy treatment in ODIs?

[Amar786]

Asad Shafiq hasnt done nothing for pakistan in his 26 innings he has played got an average of 29.20 and a strike rate of 68. And people still want him in our odi side.

Do you want to know when he scored his 5 half centuries:

78 not out against Zimbabwe chasing 151
71 of 102 balls out against West Indies batting first
61 not out against West Indies chasing 222
51 not out against Zimbabwe bating first
50 aginst England batting first

Asad Shafiq should be dropped he bats at number 3 but still cant get a big score. And Asad Shafiq supporters critcise Umar akmal that he cant score big when he bats at number 6 and Asad shafiq who has all the overs in the world to bat but still cant score big.

Asad Shafiq supporters wanted Farhat to be dropped in order to get Shafiq in the side at the start of the England ODI series. But what has Shafiq done either if farhat deserves to be dropped so does Asad Shafiq.

Asad Shafiq supporters accuse Umar Akmal of being a player who scores 30/40 runs but i want tell Shafiq supporters that Shafiq cant score 30/40 Runs even. Shafiq scores it in a blue moon to.

Out of 26 innings shafiq crossed the run mark of 30 only 10 times.
On top of that his strike rate is poor even in the innings he crossed the 50 run mark.

 

[Inziquicksingle]

Agreed. He should be given one more chance and then asked to go back to domestic cricket. Those stats are horrible for any teamt

 

[ali85]

still better than Farhat, Hafeez, and Younis in ODI - maybe even better than Azhar Ali in ODI.

 

[Atif]

Agreed. He should be given one more chance and then asked to go back to domestic cricket. Those stats are horrible for any teamt

One more chance, nah lets get rid

 

[Pakprideuk]

Honestly he seemed very talented but for ODIs he needs another season of domestic cricket. Very average stats if you remove the 78 and 51 not out against Zimbabwe. He deserves to be in the test side but i suggest we bring in someone like usman salahuddin or aamer sajjad into the middle order for ODIs.

I would recommend moving Umar Akmal at 3 or 4, thats is perhaps the most important move required. During those middle overs you need someone to be innovative and work the ball around, also give him more responsibility.

 

[VTEC]

Better to persist with Shafiq than going in with Younus Khan

Imran Farhat needs to go first though followed by YK and then u can decide on Shafiq

 

[Purefection]

Honestly he seemed very talented but for ODIs he needs another season of domestic cricket. Very average stats if you remove the 78 and 51 not out against Zimbabwe. He deserves to be in the test side but i suggest we bring in someone like usman salahuddin or aamer sajjad into the middle order for ODIs.

I would recommend moving Umar Akmal at 3 or 4, thats is perhaps the most important move required. During those middle overs you need someone to be innovative and work the ball around, also give him more responsibility.

Better to persist with Shafiq than going in with Younus Khan

Imran Farhat needs to go first though followed by YK and then u can decide on Shafiq

Agreed with both actually.
First Farhat then YK
Let's see what Shafiq can do in the last ODI

 

[mohimran]

why dream we know Farhat will be around forever

As for shafiq, The side is dangerously low on batsmen. Perhaps he will develop into something of a player with time, given that the alternatives are probably younis khan and Shoaib Malik i rather see him in there

 

[Fireworks11]

He's very talented, needs a few more series at number 3 tbf.

 

[mufassir]

Honestly he seemed very talented but for ODIs he needs another season of domestic cricket. Very average stats if you remove the 78 and 51 not out against Zimbabwe. He deserves to be in the test side but i suggest we bring in someone like usman salahuddin or aamer sajjad into the middle order for ODIs.

.

I dont think we should try usman in the odi's first.He seems more suited to test cricket and should be first introduced at test level and then in the odi's just like azhar ali.

 

[iRfaN_LA]

He is a lot better than Azhar ali in LOC. Azhar ali is purely a test batsman.

 

[Energy]

Make no mistake about it, the lad is not going anywhere for quite some time. Busy player, good on the front foot, needs to settle into a role which will come with exposure.

 

[Thees_Mar_Khan]

Yeah get rid of him because he cannot keep up with the different positions he has been to bat on. And yeah drop him because he cant keep up with decisions to sit out every next game. Btw who will then the management use as a guinea pig to experiment.

 

[Pakprideuk]

He is a lot better than Azhar ali in LOC. Azhar ali is purely a test batsman.

Yeah, you say that after two games whereas Shafiqs had around 27 ODI games plus 13 test matches to establish himself in either format and has failed to. Atleast when Azhar was thrown in at number 3 on a swinging Lords wicket with heavy overhead conditions against Australia, he showed he had the technique to survive. And to add to that, in the next test scored a second innings 50 to lead Pakistan to their first test win against Australia on another seaming and swining wicket.

I don't see the need to compare the two batsmen. Shafiq does not have the technique to bat in the top three so i don't see why the two should even be compared.

 

[Inswinger]

Asad is not the problem. He along with Umar are a part of the solution.

 

[Amar786]

What solution Younis has performed better than him. Its time for him to go and learn from his mistakes. Send him to domestic cricket just like they sended Umar Akmal and ask him to prove that he can score big. In both test and odi he has failed. Atleast umar has performed in oddi

 

[MVP26]

Asad used to be an attacking batsman when he first played but misbah has changed him into a tuk tuk.

 

[Thees_Mar_Khan]

What solution Younis has performed better than him. Its time for him to go and learn from his mistakes. Send him to domestic cricket just like they sended Umar Akmal and ask him to prove that he can score big. In both test and odi he has failed. Atleast umar has performed in oddi

U watching the England test series?

 

[Hasnain_786]

Parchi Asad anyone?

 

[kkmix]

Asad is parchi ... get rid of him ... bring in Malik in place for him.

 

[12cavalry]

There are just too many tuk tuks in this team.
Asad along with Misbah and Younis make up probably the most defensive middle order in world cricket. And Asad not being able to hit big shots is one thing, but he seems to be a very poor runner.

 

[CalculatedRisk]

Shafiq needs to play one defining, dominating and big inning very soon because his time may be running out soon and so will be people's patience

 

[speed]

no keep him he can play shots but looks scared for his place in the side when batting so goes into tuk tuk mode.

 

[proud_pakistani]

Omg..few weeks bac ppl were sayin how great he is and after 1 series ppl are turning their back on him. Pathetic. We cant change the whole team. We need to build the middle order arnd Asad and Umar Akmal. They are the future.

 

[bilawal666]

he needs to go...

 

[Inswinger]

Some really worthy posts here. Asad is not the problem.

 

[shahrukh619]

Lol, people having a go at shafiq... He is a good player... Needs abit of improvement.. Dint he show a good performance in the world cup??

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Its called building for the future.

 

[Maher96]

He fine to be in the team. But his strike rate of 70 is shocking!!

 

[donsrk]

Dude hes probably the most sensible batsman as compared to Misbah and Younis.. Farahat Malik are in no league. He can build innings..and rotate the strike. His cuts are treat to watch. Give him some time and he can develop into another inzi or yousi..Younis Misbah can never become like inzi yousi cos they waste half of balls tuk tuk..

 

[Cricket_MN]

Asad, Azhar are the future of Pakistan batting line up and needs to be persisted with.

 

[Thees_Mar_Khan]

There are just too many tuk tuks in this team.
Asad along with Misbah and Younis make up probably the most defensive middle order in world cricket. And Asad not being able to hit big shots is one thing, but he seems to be a very poor runner.

We should clone one each of Umar Akmal and Afridi and get rid of Asad and Younis. How abt that. Too many chakay and entairtainment in the batting innings

 

[s.h.a.k]

Its not Asad Shafiqs fault. Since Misbah has took over captaincy he is trying to make his top 5 play tuk tuk cricket. And I do not think Shafiq should be batting at 3. He be better batting at 5 or highest 4.

 

[in_cutter]

Asad, Azhar are the future of Pakistan batting line up and needs to be persisted with.

..now how many times have we read that before on this forum...

 

[Amar786]

Sensible misbah is more sensible than shafiq. Shafiq hasnt played any innings since 14th September 2011. Dont talk about the world cup that was a year ago. Shafiq hasnt shown that he can build an innings in his career so far even the 50s he has scored have been at 80 strike rate. He has performed only when he was chasing low scores and batting first when he faced **** teams. I would rather invest in a new youngster rather than shafiq has had enough chances. You have all the right to blame misbah and mohsin but at the end of the day you have to look if he is performing or not . We are not asking for a hundred strike rate just 80-85 which is average.

I would give Shafiq till asia cup although i feel he doesnt deserve to be in the team because we have invested in him for long time,

 

[Amar786]

Why do you critcise umar akmal? when he fails i one innings and not talk about shafiq when he gets out. If umar had got run out like shafiq did you would be the first people to critcise him.

Why do you Shafiq supporters not support pakistan but support Asad Shafiq.

When umar akmal was batting i am sure you shafiq supporters were praying he gets out so they can critcise umar akmal

 

[Looney]

he was not even out

 

[Inswinger]

All fanboys need to get behind the team and not individuals.

 

[Amar786]

OK Is he blind like farhat that he was going for a sucidal run which was never there.

 

[Amar786]

I support everyone who represents pakistan i support farhat even because he plays for Pakistan. I have no problem with Shafiq i support him because he plays for pak i want everone to perform who plays but these shafiq supporters don't suport pak and are just interested in shafiq if you want evidence go on umar akmal treads you will see for yourself.

 

[s.h.a.k]

I support everyone who represents pakistan i support farhat even because he plays for Pakistan. I have no problem with Shafiq i support him because he plays for pak i want everone to perform who plays but these shafiq supporters don't suport pak and are just interested in shafiq if you want evidence go on umar akmal treads you will see for yourself.

What a shame this is, we need to get behind the whole team, they all are representing Pakistan at the end of the day even we like them or not. I do not like Younis and Farhat especially but then they play I always hoping for them to good and want them to do good ad they have been selected.

And Amar you critisizing others but look what you been writing on this page about Shafiq.
Umar Akmal is our best batsmen in limited overs by a mile at the moment I admit. Shafiq has been ruined by this defensice mindset of our captain. They send him at 3 to just go and block block. I do not think he should be batting at 3 anyways, He should bat at 5 and I am sure you will se how good he is then.

 

[Maher96]

How do we know its the xaptain who says go and block block??

 

[Maher96]

Hasn't he got a brain? Where has he played cricket so far?

It just the confidence issue with all our batsmen they get scared and intimidated when they face pressure situations or good bowling line-ups.

 

[Looney]

How do we know its the xaptain who says go and block block??

They say actions speak louder than words

 

[in_cutter]

Shafiq has been ruined by this defensice mindset of our captain. They send him at 3 to just go and block block

Why blame the captain for everything?? Far as I can remember, Shafiq never batted like Viv in the first place.

 

[s.h.a.k]

How do we know its the xaptain who says go and block block??

Well its the captain and coach that picks the team and chooses the strategies and tactics. So you saying that the batsmen just block block themselves for fun, the way Misbah does. How many games has Misbah cost us because of his block block in ODIS, now hes getting others to play this way. Too defensive mindset. If he was a little aggresive in his batting, we would have won so many games including the Mohali semi final against India. Relyying on Akmal and Afridi in the last 10 overs might work 5/10 times but not all times.

 

[s.h.a.k]

Why blame the captain for everything?? Far as I can remember, Shafiq never batted like Viv in the first place.

Never said he batted like Viv, but we have seen Misbah and his way of cricket of the last few years in ODIs, you can see in this ODI series hes getting others to do the same. His way of thinking is too defensive and negative, he might get away in test matches but not in ODIs.

 

[in_cutter]

Never said he batted like Viv, but we have seen Misbah and his way of cricket of the last few years in ODIs, you can see in this ODI series hes getting others to do the same. His way of thinking is too defensive and negative, he might get away in test matches but not in ODIs.

Maybe the others are not agressive enough in the first place, i.e, Shafiq.

 

[s.h.a.k]

Maybe the others are not agressive enough in the first place, i.e, Shafiq.

Well when Shafiq debuted a few years ago at number 6 in a ODI game, I remember him being a good stroke player that had agression in his game too but since a while hes getting too defensive under Misbah.

 

[down4whatever]

How is he the future? He's 26,(listed age, could be older) and should be in the prime of his sporting career. Yet, everytime he does anything other than tuk, he looks awful. Even the last ODI, he was almost out lbw to Samit Patel of all people while trying to play an attacking shot ( replays showed him to be plumb lbw, btw).

He can be a useful Test player, but please, keep him out of the ODIs.

 

[Inswinger]

Well when Shafiq debuted a few years ago at number 6 in a ODI game, I remember him being a good stroke player that had agression in his game too but since a while hes getting too defensive under Misbah.

That was just one match though.

 

[VTEC]

He gets to play one odd match in an ODI Series and on different Positions

Give him a consistent run on 4 or 5 before passing any judgement

 

[1137moiz]

Haha what a kneejerk. A nice ball in the first match, an umpiring blunder (howler actually) in the 2nd.

Certainly Shafiq deserves a proper run of more than 2 games at a time

 

[Looney]

Yeah , i dont get it either . You have Malik , Farhat , Cheema and Gul who have contributed much less to the team yet we all end up blaming Asad Shafiq , Younis Khan or even Hafeez for everything .

 

[Inswinger]

Yeah , i dont get it either . You have Malik , Farhat , Cheema and Gul who have contributed much less to the team yet we all end up blaming Asad Shafiq , Younis Khan or even Hafeez for everything .

Really? You haven't seen people blaming Malik, Gul, and Cheema?

 

[Looney]

Really? You haven't seen people blaming Malik, Gul, and Cheema?

No , what i am saying is , get those people out of the squad first . Even before getting a proper run in tests , most PPers were agaisnt him and guess what ? he proved you all wrong . Waqar Younis who has worked with the whole team , he must have a better idea of the team than us , he really supports Shafiq in the combox .

1st ODI , he got a really great delivery from Finn , i watched it live . 2nd ODI , he was dropped . 3rd ODI , he was picked again and it is debatable whether we was given out right or not . Again , i saw it live and even the commies were shocked to see that he had been given out . They thought he would stay at least on benefit of doubt .

 

[Bashira_taeli]

Too many sensitive fan boys of Asad. Had Umar failed like this they would all be up in his business. How can they not see that Asad isnt a one day batsman. He look out of sort whenever he goes for a big short.

And for god sake stop bringing up Farhat and Malik. No one here wants them to play anyway.

 

[Inziquicksingle]

No , what i am saying is , get those people out of the squad first . Even before getting a proper run in tests , most PPers were agaisnt him and guess what ? he proved you all wrong . Waqar Younis who has worked with the whole team , he must have a better idea of the team than us , he really supports Shafiq in the combox .

1st ODI , he got a really great delivery from Finn , i watched it live . 2nd ODI , he was dropped . 3rd ODI , he was picked again and it is debatable whether we was given out right or not . Again , i saw it live and even the commies were shocked to see that he had been given out . They thought he would stay at least on benefit of doubt .

Come on Looney, lets not kid ourselves. He hasn't "proved anyone wrong" in Tests as of yet. He averages a very mediocre 37 in Tests. This is like borderline acceptable even for Pakistan. Proving everyone wrong is when the guy is consistently scoring runs and makes a few big ones. Zero hundreds and averaging 32 if you remove Bangladesh is pretty unimpressive. I'm not saying drop him, but he has a LOT to prove.

His ODI record is poor and honestly plays like a phattu. This is not his fault because like you pointed out he is dropped often. Another reason is his kuptaan is a bigger phattu.

So basically a very average start to his career, can still be a good player, I hope.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Yes, let's drop the whole team

Hafeez is 20,30 player...

Farhat cant play even if it was his mama bowling...

Shafiq sucks

Azhar is test batsmen

Misbah is beyond prime

Umar Akmal slogs....

Adnan Akmal cant bat.....

You see where I am going with this ...

 

[shehzadd]

Asad Shafiq hasnt done nothing for pakistan in his 26 innings he has played got an average of 29.20 and a strike rate of 68. And people still want him in our odi side.

Do you want to know when he scored his 5 half centuries:

78 not out against Zimbabwe chasing 151
71 of 102 balls out against West Indies batting first
61 not out against West Indies chasing 222
51 not out against Zimbabwe bating first
50 aginst England batting first

Asad Shafiq should be dropped he bats at number 3 but still cant get a big score. And Asad Shafiq supporters critcise Umar akmal that he cant score big when he bats at number 6 and Asad shafiq who has all the overs in the world to bat but still cant score big.

Asad Shafiq supporters wanted Farhat to be dropped in order to get Shafiq in the side at the start of the England ODI series. But what has Shafiq done either if farhat deserves to be dropped so does Asad Shafiq.

Asad Shafiq supporters accuse Umar Akmal of being a player who scores 30/40 runs but i want tell Shafiq supporters that Shafiq cant score 30/40 Runs even. Shafiq scores it in a blue moon to.

Out of 26 innings shafiq crossed the run mark of 30 only 10 times.
On top of that his strike rate is poor even in the innings he crossed the 50 run mark.

Tell me why u havent opened a thread about Imran farhat's selection who have played all the odi matches?
Please also mention what is the batting position of asad shafiq?

If u use a batsman as an opener, one down, two down and even at nr 5, 6 than how can you find a consistency in his batting.

 

[Sakss]

what has umer akmal done?

what has farhat done??

can u hold it and be patient instead of moaning every match

 

[mrk]

lol do person who started is post even know what cricket is ??? Stop making post like this.

Asad Shafiq is very good player for middel order and has in past had good patnership with Umar Akmal. And not long time ago he was big part in winning test matches for u.

 

[Pak_Lover]

I really admire your cricket knowledge

 

[carbon11]

If pcb really want to play asad they should play him at 4/5 in the middle order he does not have the technique to play as an opener or number 3

He struggles against pace and against this England attack which is consistency and quality personified he is a rabbit caught in the headlights
the change of rule odi , the ball is not gonna get soft so no more easy runs during middle periods where the game went very boring and people just nurdled the spinners around.
No more big scores 300 range, the top order is gonna be similar to test order batsmen who can play swing and seam well.

But pcb have invested a lot in Shafiq he has been in the squad for 2yrs now start of 2010, so he needs to start repaying that investment, coach captain could help by playing him in the middle order.
But time is running out and Shafiq is not a youngster he is 26 at that age what was yousuf , yunus, inzi, miandad achieving much more

 

[Bashira_taeli]

lol do person who started is post even know what cricket is ??? Stop making post like this.

Asad Shafiq is very good player for middel order and has in past had good patnership with Umar Akmal. And not long time ago he was big part in winning test matches for u.

Good player with an average of 29.

And take a load of this. In the 27 match ODI career of his, which include series against two minnows he has hit so far a grand total of 2 sixes. )

He should concentrate on test cricket. He has the patience to be a good test bad.

 

[Sakss]

If pcb really want to play asad they should play him at 4/5 in the middle order he does not have the technique to play as an opener or number 3

He struggles against pace and against this England attack which is consistency and quality personified he is a rabbit caught in the headlights
the change of rule odi , the ball is not gonna get soft so no more easy runs during middle periods where the game went very boring and people just nurdled the spinners around.
No more big scores 300 range, the top order is gonna be similar to test order batsmen who can play swing and seam well.

But pcb have invested a lot in Shafiq he has been in the squad for 2yrs now start of 2010, so he needs to start repaying that investment, coach captain could help by playing him in the middle order.
But time is running out and Shafiq is not a youngster he is 26 at that age what was yousuf , yunus, inzi, miandad achieving much more

PLaying at 3 or 4,5 is the same in our team ,...no 4 is usually at the crease with in 10 overs anyway

 

[Osama_B]

am really disappointed with him. he has failed to grab his chances when given to him and hence we keep going back to farhat. when u have someone liek farhat in the squad on nepotism it is important his potential replacement grabs his chance with both hands when he gets it to keep farhat out of the team. Like taufeeq has done to ensure parchi player isn't playing in the test side. Asad needs to do the same.

I am hearing farhat will not play tomorrow. Now whoever replaces him wether its Shafiq or not better make a big score or if not then its back to farhat....

 

[Amjid Javed]

I think Asad should be presisted with at number 5 in the team. its time we looked at players like Asad, azhar Ali, fawad Alam etc... and realize that these guys need to be groomed as long term batting options in ODI team. Sooner we dump the likes of Farhat and YK the better.

 

[Amar786]

I no farhat is **** thats why i aint opened a tab on him

 

[Amar786]

I aint against shafiq i am against shafiq supporters who on every little thing critcise umar akmal cant they talk about younis, misbah, hafeez why just umar when he gets out. If younis or misbah or shafiq get out throwing there wicket away its ok buit when umar does it they call it called brain fart

 

[style_guru]

@OP:- For the same reason why a few others are in and few others are out.

 

[humzy]

i have no idea why he is still in the team my friend.. honestly doesnt look like a solid bat to me at all.. hasnt got that determination or arrogance needed to be a very good batter.. give me shehzad, jamshed over this guy any day

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Better to persist with Shafiq than going in with Younus Khan

Imran Farhat needs to go first though followed by YK and then u can decide on Shafiq

this, id also add thought that azhar ali and shafiq can fight for the number 3 position in limited overs, cant have them both in the same 11 at this stage

 

[Thees_Mar_Khan]

With Misbah and Younis retiring in a year or so time, team need a player like Asad.

 

[Amar786]

As i said we should give shafiq till asia cup and he needs to get some runs on board.

And the good news to shafiq supporters is that afridi is going to become the captain for the asia cup so shafiq supporters shouldnt have a excuse of him playing a tuk tuk innings and dav whatmore will be the coach. So no mohsin and misbah then shafiq supporters if he fails shafiq should go and if he doesnt flop then i will myself blame misbah and mohsin of making him a tuk tuk player.

But the most supprising thing is that shafiq plays for his self not pakistan if you believe misbah and mohsin have made him tuk tuk player to so save his place in the side he plays tuk tuk. Then aint shafiq a selfish player. But when umar plays fast due to your tuk tuk players you shafiq supporters accuse of throwing his wicket away but in actual fact him playing quick benefits pakistan.

 

[VTEC]

Shafiq > Younus > Farhat

For Batting Position
As long as these 2 guys are in the Team there is no point dropping Shafiq

 

[Thees_Mar_Khan]

As i said we should give shafiq till asia cup and he needs to get some runs on board.

And the good news to shafiq supporters is that afridi is going to become the captain for the asia cup so shafiq supporters shouldnt have a excuse of him playing a tuk tuk innings and dav whatmore will be the coach. So no mohsin and misbah then shafiq supporters if he fails shafiq should go and if he doesnt flop then i will myself blame misbah and mohsin of making him a tuk tuk player.

But the most supprising thing is that shafiq plays for his self not pakistan if you believe misbah and mohsin have made him tuk tuk player to so save his place in the side he plays tuk tuk. Then aint shafiq a selfish player. But when umar plays fast due to your tuk tuk players you shafiq supporters accuse of throwing his wicket away but in actual fact him playing quick benefits pakistan.

Give him the same backing and confidence and don't play him game by game. Umer playing fast or I say slog is nothing to do with any other player including Misbah. He can't resist shots.

 

[Amar786]

If you are thinking pak are going to drop farhat then i will tell you that he is not going to get dropped because he made 50 against afgan then 47 against eng and that to within 4 games
which will give his father in law enough eidence to keep him in the side and on top of that his father in law will say my son in law performed better than misbah, hafeez, younis , shafiq.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

If you are thinking pak are going to drop farhat then i will tell you that he is not going to get dropped because he made 50 against afgan then 47 against eng and that to within 4 games
which will give his father in law enough eidence to keep him in the side and on top of that his father in law will say my son in law performed better than misbah, hafeez, younis , shafiq.

Farhat is worse than Ajmal agreed.

But lol father-in-law does have a point

 

[VTEC]

Give him the same backing and confidence and don't play him game by game. Umer playing fast or I say slog is nothing to do with any other player including Misbah. He can't resist shots.

This

Just look at how many matches he has played in some Recent ODI Series

vs Ireland
1 out of 2

vs Zimbabwe
1 out of 3

vs SriLanka
1 out of 5

vs England
2/3 Out of 4

Apart from that he juggled all over the Batting Line Up
Im not being a fanboy here but u cannot call this a consistent Run

Half the time he is kicked out to accommodate sifarishi players like Malik