Pakistan Super League’s eighth edition (PSL 8) is in full swing, and it’s not just the seasoned players who are catching our attention this season. The league has been a breeding ground for emerging talent, including the rise of Abdullah Shafique. His fearless approach to batting has earned him the admiration of fans and the attention of selectors alike. With his explosive batting skills and impressive performances, Abdullah has become one of the most promising players this season.
Rise of Abdullah Shafique and his Inclusion in Red Ball Format
The Rise of Abdullah Shafique is not surprising as he is one of the most talented and technical batters in Pakistan. He’s shown his ability when he was given a chance in Pakistan’s red ball format. In the 23 test innings he played, he scored 992 runs with an astonishing average of 47. This also includes match-winning innings of 160 against Sri Lanka while chasing an astounding total of 342. He also has three hundred and four fifties to his name. He is considered the best technical batter in Pakistan, which makes him very hard to bowl.
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Makes Batting Look So Easy
The rise of Abdullah Shafique is making this PSL more interesting as he has such a wonderful technique, getting him out is pretty difficult and bowlers get frustrated against him. The most amazing thing about his batting is that he makes batting look so easy. Whatever the format, Abdullah amazes the spectators with some beautiful cricketing shots.
He never tries to hit the ball too hard or to get it out of the park. He just times the ball so sweetly and places it so well. His drive and flick shot never bores the audience. And the most impressive thing of his was that he could rotate the strike pretty well too. Not only this, he bats according to the situation and provides a boundary where needed. He could anchor the innings as well as play fast.
Performance In PSL 8
Abdullah Shafique was dropped for the first three games as Kamran Ghulam played ahead of him. But his bad form led to Abdullah’s inclusion in Lahore Qalandar’s XI. And he shone with the bat with scores of 75, 45, 15 and 48, with an impressive strike rate for a test cricketer of 160. He helped his team to get to some brilliant totals above 170.
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Performance in Domestic T20
Abdullah Shafique struggled to get going in this format when he first came, but he evolved himself, and now, in 42 innings, he’s scored 1180 runs with a hundred and six fifties to his name. His strike rate is low but is acceptable top of the order of 132. He’s also made his debut already for Pakistan in this format but couldn’t do much damage as in the three innings he has played, he got out on ducks two times and played an impressive knock of 41 against Zimbabwe.
Issue Of Short Ball
However, having such a good technique, Abdullah Shafique has been struggling against the Short Ball and is usually not in control while playing the pull shot. He also got out against the Short Ball in the test series against England and ducked under the short ball in the PSL. Short Ball is a weak point of Abdullah, and he would need to improve it to become a top player in the world.
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Does he Really Deserve A Spot in Pakistan White Ball Format?
The rise of Abdullah Shafique has made him worthy of deserving a spot in Pakistan white ball squad. Not only this, but with the ODI World Cup coming this year, he could become our number 4, which we require. Abdullah also showed that he could cope with the challenging run rate in T20Is and is worthy of getting into our T20 squad plans. However, if he wants to get into Pakistan White Ball Squad, then he would have to improve his short ball play, but otherwise, he’s talented, technical, and one of the most class players Pakistan has ever produced!
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