Abdullah Shafique’s struggles in recent matches, particularly in back-to-back series against Zimbabwe, Australia, and South Africa, have turned the critics’ attention towards him. Abdullah, a player known for his aggressive opening, faces backlash due to his poor performances. He is one of the finest Pakistani openers and has been very good with the bat, but in recent series, Abdullah Shafique’s struggle was seen.
Abdullah Shafique in ODIs:
Abdullah has played a total of 21 ODIs and has scored 612 runs in those matches, including a ton, with a highest score of 113 and a strike rate of 81.92. He is lying in the 98th position in the ICC ODI rankings. These stats could have been better if Abdullah had performed in recent series like he used to.
Batting struggle against Australia:
In a recently played series against Australia, Abdullah Shafique’s struggle was crystal clear, as he didn’t make it long on the crease and returned to the pavilion quickly in all three matches. Only in the second ODI did his score seem nice, as he scored 64 runs and remained not out, while in the rest of the matches (1st and 3rd ODI), he scored 11 and 37 runs, respectively.
Failure continued against Zimbabwe:
After showing a poor batting display against Australia, Abdullah was expected to make a comeback at least against Zimbabwe, but he failed again. He wasn’t able to score against Zimbabwe too. In the 3rd ODI, he managed to score a fifty; otherwise, throughout the series, his performance wasn’t up to the mark.
An unwanted record for Abdullah against South Africa:
In a recently played series against South Africa, Abdullah Shafique’s struggle added a new but unwanted record to his list. Since Abdullah doesn’t own any records in ODI cricket, and these are the only records he made till now, he is the only batsman to score the most ducks in a series in cricket history, as well as the only Pakistani opener to score the least runs in a year. He got out without scoring a single run in all matches against South Africa, leaving fans in shock.
Continuous selection of Abdullah despite being out of form: Even after seeing his poor performances and struggle, the Pakistan Cricket Board kept giving him chances one after despite multiple opportunities, Abdullah struggled to deliver consistent performances, raising questions about his selection.
Abdullah in Test:
His struggle in the Test against England in a series played in October 2024 was crystal clear. He managed to score 102 runs in the first innings of the first Test and then, in the second innings, got out on a duck. Similarly, in the remaining two matches of the series, he did nothing new; his scores for the second Test were 7 and 4 runs, and in the third Test, it was 15 and 5 runs; he remained not out in the second innings.
Due to his continuous struggle with the bat, the PCB finally decided to make some decisions and dropped him in the first Test against South Africa. He wasn’t a part of the playing 11 in the first Test match, which is a quite good step by the PCB. Abdullah can now focus on his batting and make a strong comeback, which fans are expecting from him.
Also see:
