The Asad Shafiq Discussion Thread [Merged]

[MR__KHAN__JI]

Shafiq is playing splendidly well.

Lucky boy.... but you need luck on a pitch like this.

Lets not get carried away though... pitch appeared to be flatter towards end of session.

[AZ]

that one cut/drive shot off Sammy was such a lovely shot.

[emclub]

He got 2 chances now, his gotta make them pay dont waste this opportunity

[CricnPak]

Kids got guts too. Didn't call for the physio when he got a brute on the glove.

[sunnykhan]

A great guy and quality player who can be trusted! God bless u Asad Shafiq.

[talha3]

One thing he can do well, play under pressure.

Really rate the guy.

[Abdullah22]

I always admired his confidence he also has a lot of self-belief, a good trait to have.

[kkmix]

Exactly the kind of player Pakistan was looking for...good luck to him for tomorrow.

[Fireworks11]

IA he will continue tomorrow. Big chance for him to make a name for himself.

[Theo_14]

Let's hope he doesn't get carried away and gives away his wicket cheaply - because both Misbah and Shafiq have given their wickets away during the morning sessions versus New Zealand.

Bishoo is Asad's biggest threat - so let's hope Asad stays focused as concentrates on guiding Pakistan to a famous victory, alongside Misbah.

[MR__KHAN__JI]

Asad is in training during this innings.

He hasnt been great against the spinners during his career so far...

You can visibly see him improving playing against Bishoo.

Needs to continue to learn.

[shaheer]

Originally Posted by shaheer Batting style like the great Javed Miandad his bat is straight like Javed Miandad and he looks something special

and he has shown that with a bit of luck though but he came in as the same position as Miandad 2 down and Pakistan were in the trouble sink and Shafiq got them through the sink and put them into an much better position and InshAllah he will win us the test after making a splendid century

[Saad Hasan]

What's the latest with Shafiq, is he injured or rested...how come a glorified slogger like manjhla Akmal preferred over Shafiq, who was solid in his last test outing...

[kkmix]

beauty of Pakistan cricket ... till last test match he was a regular, now he is no where to be seen. Akmals have gained power again seems like it.

[MRSN]

Originally Posted by Saad Hasan What's the latest with Shafiq, is he injured or rested...how come a glorified slogger like manjhla Akmal preferred over Shafiq, who was solid in his last test outing...

because Umar scored some runs against West Indies and Asad didn't.were you even watching Pak cricket?

[MVP26]

Originally Posted by Saad Hasan What's the latest with Shafiq, is he injured or rested...how come a glorified slogger like manjhla Akmal preferred over Shafiq, who was solid in his last test outing...

Umar scored runs in the last series while asad failed.

[kingusama92]

Originally Posted by Saad Hasan What's the latest with Shafiq, is he injured or rested...how come a glorified slogger like manjhla Akmal preferred over Shafiq, who was solid in his last test outing...

Originally Posted by kkmix beauty of Pakistan cricket ... till last test match he was a regular, now he is no where to be seen. Akmals have gained power again seems like it.

He performed in the last match, Shafiq didn't.

Add to that Umar Akmal has a better average over a longer time span at a younger age.

Quite a few reasons to pick him over Shafiq.

Ideally, both should be in the team together. However, it seems they are battling it out for one spot.

[kkmix]

Originally Posted by kingusama92 He performed in the last match, Shafiq didn't. Add to that Umar Akmal has a better average over a longer time span at a younger age. Quite a few reasons to pick him over Shafiq. Ideally, both should be in the team together. However, it seems they are battling it out for one spot.

Ask any unbiased person they will tell you Shafiq is better suited for longer format between the two. Umar may have done well in last 2 games, but Asad has looked solid, and at times he has been unlucky. Umar has flopped time and time again but he is given chances over and over again, but Shafiq has only failed in last couple of innings and he is dropped.

[kingusama92]

^

It's a tight battle. A couple of failures while the other performs means you have to sit out.

I am sure if Akmal fails in this test, he will sit out the next.

It would be unfair to drop Akmal after he performed and Shafiq didn't. How would they explain such selection methods to him?

[kkmix]

You really think they explain any selection methods to anyone? I don't think the selections are based on performance alone. Plus, this is Pakistan cricket, if he is dropped for this game despite looking promising, there is a strong possibility that he may be dropped from next 3 to 4 series. Sitting out for a game or two is not a problem. What is a problem is the selection committee, they might totally ignore him in the future if Umar performs in this game. .

[MRSN]

what kind of solid player are you if you can't even score against WI?

[kkmix]

He doesn't perform against low teams, he performs against South Africa

[Legend Killer]

ideally both Asad Shafiq or Umer Akmal should be in the team, we can drop Hafeez and get Azhar to open so our batting order(top 6) can be something like this

Taufeeq Umer
Azhar Ali
Younis Khan
Misbah Ul Haq
Asad Shafiq
Umer Akmal

[shark11]

^^^totally agree....we don't need hafeez in test team, azhar is solid enough to open the inngs.

[srh]

He is done in test cricket until Misbah retires. May get a test game here and there in dead rubber where one of the senior decides to sit out or may be because of injury. Umar Akmal needs to play every test match as he is far superior talent.

[Free Hit]

Originally Posted by shark11 ^^^totally agree....we don't need hafeez in test team, azhar is solid enough to open the inngs.

boy got 50

[Inswinger]

Asad is too talented to be out of the team for long. A bit of competition can be a great motivational tool for young players. Asad took Umar's place after he struggled, now Umar has the upper hand. I don't think there is anything sinister behind his omission.

[Legend Killer]

Originally Posted by Inswinger Asad is too talented to be out of the team for long. A bit of competition can be a great motivational tool for young players. Asad took Umar's place after he struggled, now Umar has the upper hand. I don't think there is anything sinister behind his omission.

You have a good point a bit of competition can be a good thing but the thing is that Asad and Umer both deserve to be in the team so they really shouldn't have to compete with each other. If anything one of Hafeez/Taufeeq needs to go if they perform poorly cause Azhar is good enough to open and Azhar opening will allow both Shafiq and Akmal to be in the team

[Saad Hasan]

Originally Posted by srh He is done in test cricket until Misbah retires. May get a test game here and there in dead rubber where one of the senior decides to sit out or may be because of injury. Umar Akmal needs to play every test match as he is far superior talent.

Talented...so are Afridi, Imran Nazir, and Shahzaib Hasan, but they are not in the test team...you have to keep your sloggers and grafters separate and placed in appropriate formats....knowing PCB and Pakistan's idiotic fan base, they pick sloggers for tests and grafters for shorter version of the game...

[Markhor]

Originally Posted by Saad Hasan Talented...so our Afridi, Imran Nazir, and Shahzaib Hasan, but they are not in the test team...you have keep your sloggers and grafters separate and placed appropriate format....knowing PCB and Pakistan's idiotic fan based, they pick sloggers for tests and grafters for shorter version of the game...

How dare someone put a price on their wicket in Test matches ? We need some quicker scoring guy to start hitting sixerzzz.

[srh]

Originally Posted by Saad Hasan Talented...so our Afridi, Imran Nazir, and Shahzaib Hasan, but they are not in the test team...you have keep your sloggers and grafters separate and placed appropriate format....knowing PCB and Pakistan's idiotic fan based, they pick sloggers for tests and grafters for shorter version of the game...

true but we already have too many grafters (4) in tests in top 6 (Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq). Plus Umar Akmal proved on W.I. tour that he can play tests while Asad Shafiq failed on that tour.

[strongman123]

He is battling it out with Umar Akmal for one spot, and Umar Akmal was sittiing out of test matches until the last tour of Windies. They both got a chance in Windies, and Umar Akmal came out on top. If he fails here, than Asad Shafiq will get his chance against Sri Lanka, but lets see, always a good thing to have competition.

[farazaidi]

LOL!! really amazing to see people finding logic in Shafiq's omission after just 1 bad test, just one. Simply amazing!

If you want players to play for their places in every damn match, forget about building a team for good

[*syed59*]

Originally Posted by farazaidi LOL!! really amazing to see people finding logic in Shafiq's omission after just 1 bad test, just one. Simply amazing! If you want players to play for their places in every damn match, forget about building a team for good

they know they have an excuse to use.

moreover.

umar akmal is the brother of dashing cover driver kamran which our cricket fans love even though they would say otherwise here.

umar akmal hits sixes even if though he gets out hitting them

umar akmal is from lahore

with all these advantages, how dare can anyone argue against his place.

[Saad Hasan]

^^ Yeah these would be the same fools who if they were around in 80s/90s would be defending Ramiz Rambo Raja's inclusion in the test team...afterall Ramiz is talunted and most of all cheeta of lahore...

[Saad Hasan]

Originally Posted by srh true but we already have too many grafters (4) in tests in top 6 (Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq). Plus Umar Akmal proved on W.I. tour that he can play tests while Asad Shafiq failed on that tour.

Yeah and what did his super duper combo of Richards/Ponting/Sachin/Bradman Umar Akmal prove in the tour of England and also against South Africa in Dubai????

Essentially you are saying that for Umar to prove himself, he just needs to succeed in one innings out of 10 and for Shafiq he is to succeed in 10 out of 10 to prove his worth...even one failure for Shafiq is enough to be discarded...

My hats off to you for your Lahori logic...

[Bullet Drive]

Good decision to leave him out IMO..

Umar is a better batsmen and deserved this because of the WI tour where he outshun Shafiq.

This is a flat track so quick scoring can be done with ease as shown by Hafeez.

Umar has the game to dominate.

[enigmatic_stani]

Originally Posted by Bullet Drive Good decision to leave him out IMO.. Umar is a better batsmen and deserved this because of the WI tour where he outshun Shafiq. This is a flat track so quick scoring can be done with ease as shown by Hafeez. Umar has the game to dominate.

At the mo its a toss up between Umar and Asad and Umar definitely deserves the bearth as he is our only attacking middle order batsmen especially with a long tail.

[kingusama92]

Gotta love fans who toss in the 'Karachi-Lahore' BS in every situation.

Where is the logic in dropping Umar Akmal over Asad Shafiq after one performed and the other didn't?

There is one spot for them to fight out amongst themselves. What wrong has Umar Akmal done to be dropped over Asad Shafiq. Based on merit, Umar Akmal should be getting the spot and he did.

What does Asad Shafiq have over Umar Akmal (at this point in time) barring good technique? If that is the criteria than we might as well call Umar Amin and choose him over both of these guys cause his technique beats both batsmen!

Like I stated above...

Asad Shafiq didn't perform in the last match. Umar Akmal did. Umar has the higher test average over a longer time span on top of that! Plus, he's 5 years younger!

[AZ]

Terribly unlucky to miss out, but as stated by some a not-so-bad call.

You need an attacking player in the batting lineup too, not all of them should be batsmen of the same mould.

[kkmix]

Originally Posted by kingusama92 Gotta love fans who toss in the 'Karachi-Lahore' BS in every situation. Where is the logic in dropping Umar Akmal over Asad Shafiq after one performed and the other didn't? There is one spot for them to fight out amongst themselves. What wrong has Umar Akmal done to be dropped over Asad Shafiq. Based on merit, Umar Akmal should be getting the spot and he did. What does Asad Shafiq have over Umar Akmal (at this point in time) barring good technique? If that is the criteria than we might as well call Umar Amin and choose him over both of these guys cause his technique beats both batsmen! Like I stated above... Asad Shafiq didn't perform in the last match. Umar Akmal did. Umar has the higher test average over a longer time span on top of that! Plus, he's 5 years younger!

So are we gonna kick out players after one bad game? what kind of message does this send out?

[MVP26]

Originally Posted by kkmix So are we gonna kick out players after one bad game? what kind of message does this send out?

Then who do you bring him in the team for?

[Legend Killer]

Great innings by Asad Shafiq today, was playing after a gap so the pressure was on him to perform(like it usually is) and he did

[Abdullah22]

Happy to see him in the playing IX eventhough I didn't follow the match.

BTW they should have dropped Mr Malik instead of Umar Akmal.

[the Great Khan]

showing he has the temprament to make it! this lad really needs the encouragement to get ahead..!

[SwingNSeam]

This is why he should be part of the Pak team

[Legend Killer]

Was great in the field too, took a great catch and should have had a run out to his name but the umpire had other ideas

[TNA]

gets slotted into the team out of the blue and makes a 50. What a player!

[talha3]

He is our next YK.

[Legend Killer]

Originally Posted by TNA gets slotted into the team out of the blue and makes a 50. What a player!

and this not the first team he has done this, during the WC he came in to the team out of nowhere and scored 70 odd against ZIM and 40 odd against AUS in his first two matches

[JibranAnsari]

shoaib malik should be out of the team. Both umar akmal and asad shafiq should play.

[BakuGM]

Originally Posted by JibranAnsari shoaib malik should be out of the team. Both umar akmal and asad shafiq should play.

There should be NO QUESTION about Asad and Umar playing in our ODI team. Malik's time has passed and we need to look at the next World Cup. I will stop watching Pakistan cricket matches if, barring injury, these two are not played........

[farsiddiqui]

Good innings today. He (and Azhar Ali as well) need to work on converting their 50s to 100s now in both ODIs and Tests.

Both of them have crossed 50 multiple times without reaching 3 figures. Hoping that that trend would change in the near future.

[Sledger]

He needs to be given an extended run, should cement himself in the middle order if given time. Madness to drop him.

[cricfan4ever]

must learn to convert those 50s into 100s if he's going to be our future no.3 in ODIs!!!

and I agree both Shafiq & Umar should be permanent fixtures in the ODI line up!

this should be the middle order for ODIs: Shafiq, Umar, Misbah, Malik/Razzaq/Hammad

[Inswinger]

Can't believe they have Umar and Asad battling for the same spot. These 2 should be playing every match but for some reason lesser players are getting more opportunities.

[SwingNSeam]

I guess this series might cost Farhat his place in this side, so this should make way for either Asad/Azhar. But I have a feeling they will play Taufeeq instead of opening with either of these two.

[AZ]

won't be that drastic IMO, more likely that Malik will be benched.

[Legend Killer]

Originally Posted by AZ won't be that drastic IMO, more likely that Malik will be benched.

Mark my words Malik won't be benched unless he fails for another ten matches or so, it took 10 failures to take him out of the team last time around so don't think it will be any different this time

[SwingNSeam]

Originally Posted by Legend Killer Mark my words Malik won't be benched unless he fails for another ten matches or so, it took 10 failures to take him out of the team last time around so don't think it will be nay different this time

I'd think the same.

[Cricket_MN]

What a playa this young lad is....... I am so happy to see him back in the side.

He does not seem like players who would throw tantrum if asked to bat up the order.

Coming in at the most important position (one down) and then scoring useful runs for the team speaks for itself. Its players like Asad that make us proud as a Pakistani fans.

Unbelievable to even think that such a talented genuine batsman like Asad was kept out of the playing 11 for some very mediocre player.

[Inswinger]

Originally Posted by AZ won't be that drastic IMO, more likely that Malik will be benched.

Umar and Asad will get benched before either of Farhat or Malik.

[Legend Killer]

He showed today that he is the sort of batsman that is fit to play all in three formats and btw now he has hit two bowlers in intentional cricket for four 4s in a row(Chris Mopfu and Tim Bresnan) Lets hope he adds more bowlers to that list

[iHammad]

Awesome player, should be given consistent chances! And I really hope they still send him opening in the 2nd T20.

[BoomBoomAli]

Should open in ODIs from now on too, I know it didnt work out too well last time but we dont have a decent enough partner for El Professor.

[AZ]

maybe he can be the of this team - middle order player turned opener.

has all the shots, good technique, excellent temperament.

[insurge]

The cover drive he played (the 4th four he hit against Mpofu I think) was just... wow. Pure class in that shot.

[Inswinger]

He might not have gotten many runs today but he showed, once again, that he has the heart and the guts to play out any situation.

There is no explanation for him sitting on the bench while Shoaib Malik is struggling in every game.

Asad has to play every match of every format in the upcoming tour of Bangladesh. Umar and Asad are the future. Don't waste their ability by compensating for the likes of Malik, Farhat, etc.

[srh]

^He failed today

[kkmix]

^ That's not called 'failing'.

[Looney]

Originally Posted by AZ maybe he can be the of this team - middle order player turned opener. has all the shots, good technique, excellent temperament.

i was thinking the same watching him bat today but he has a long way to go .

[alberto]

he is going to be pakistan's best number 3 since the turn of the millennium

[Inswinger]

Originally Posted by srh ^He failed today

A middle order batsman, who has been sitting on the bench for 2 weeks, is asked to open the innings scores more runs than the regular opener and we call it a failure?


How would you describe Malik's series then?

[Sledger]

To repeat, he should never have been dropped. He's forever playing for his spot in the side because he comes in as a last choice and what's worse is he's having to open, which I don't think he even does in domestics. Everyone cries about the injustice with Akmal but at least he starts in every game. They should have watched Asad in England and the WC to identify a solid young prospect and run with him.

Malik's contribution is zero (and his bowling sucks), should be kicked out with a steel-toe boot and not return. Seriously, how long are Shoaib and Sania going to go on world tours just to watch each other fail.. can't they collect stamps or something instead?

[srh]

Originally Posted by Inswinger A middle order batsman, who has been sitting on the bench for 2 weeks, is asked to open the innings scores more runs than the regular opener and we call it a failure?

He failed if you compare him with Imran Farhat. Now thats low.

Originally Posted by Inswinger How would you describe Malik's series then?

Malik has broken all Pakistani records of failure. Sania Mirza can bat better than him nowadays.

[alberto]

shafiq needs his maiden century.

[farsiddiqui]

He looks good and is getting starts. I would prefer him over Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik any day. He shouldn't be a dead-game replacement for these guys.

[Inswinger]

Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq*, Hammad Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed+, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Saeed Ajmal

Not a bad ODI XI there

[SIMBA]

He is a rubbish batsman - I dnt know why Ppsioners regards him so highly.

I would rather have : Ahmed Shahzad opening - he is real talent but needs guidance.

[kkmix]

Originally Posted by SIMBA He is a rubbish batsman - I dnt know why Ppsioners regards him so highly. I would rather have : Ahmed Shahzad opening - he is real talent but needs guidance.