Asad Shafiq entered the Pakistan team on the tail end of the
Pakistan cricket fraternity going into a frenzy regarding the potential of Umer
Akmal. Critics and fans always expected big from Umer. But consistently, he
failed to recreate the magic like his debut year and till now remained as a
puzzle which Pakistan cricket could not decipher.
Amid the buzz and aura of Umer, Shafiq worked harder and
gradually emerged as one of the most important members of the team. Neither did
he hog the limelight nor did he attract the critics and media for support. He
worked silently and remained steady despite failures. And now his sincerity and
patience are reaping a rich harvest.
Pakistan in tatters
Mohammad
Amir’s bowling was incandescent in the first innings. He found movement with
the new ball and pitched on the right line and length. His comeback spell after
suffering an injury while fielding in the outfield on Day 1, was even livelier.
The
ball bounced from a length , beat the bat with movement and kept Steve Smith and
his partner quiet . Sadly, Amir lacked the support from the other end as
Australia posted a challenging total in the first innings.
Pakistan’s
response to Australia’s first innings was bizarre and comical. From 43 for 1,
Pakistan collapsed to 67 for 8. The pink ball moved, but the idea of playing
away from the body and executing shots with hard hands didn’t bring anything
good. The Pakistani top and middle-order failed to get behind the line of the
ball more and thus; disaster was evident.
A
lower-order resistance from Sarfraz Ahmed and Amir helped Pakistan to escape
the absolute shamble of getting bundled out below hundred.
But
at that point of time, Pakistan’s hopes of coming back into this Test match
were dented and when Australia gave Pakistan the target of 490 to chase, the
possibility of another disgraceful display was on the cards.
One
of the most significant facets of Pakistan cricket is, when you think, they
will get mauled, they tend to surprise you by putting up an eye-popping
performance.
The
cricket culture of Pakistan is built upon its unpredictable nature, and it
reflects on their players as well. At times they are comical, at times they are
fighters of high pedigree.
Pakistan fight back
When
Amir came out to bat, Pakistan were 220 for 6. Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul -Haq
and Sarfraz Ahmed departed and the end of Pakistan’s second innings was just a
mere formality.
Amir’s
partner Asad Shafiq’s form had been wretched since the England tour - 58 runs from his previous seven innings
including three ducks. None would have invested their faith in Shafiq to pull
the match out of the fire and give Australia a fitting reply.
All
of a sudden, the scenario of the Test match started to change as Pakistan
decided to change its colour in a hopeless situation.
Shafiq
stitched two of the most significant partnerships with Amir and Wahab Riaz for
the seventh and eighth wicket which transformed the Test from a one-way-traffic
to an evenly balanced one.
After
surviving some nervous moments at the start and being dropped twice in 58 and
72 – he rode his luck to score a hundred and with that, he broke the 42-year
old record held by the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers.
The
Pakistani batsman went past Sobers’ tally of eight Test centuries from the
number six position and registered his name in the history books.
Australia
have taken a 1-0 lead, but Pakistan won the hearts of everyone. Especially, Asad Shafiq’s fantastic knock
earned accolades from the greats of the game.
A new name on the rise?
Shafiq
hails from Karachi, a place which is chaotic by nature and over the years, have
produced some of cricket’s grittiest characters – Hanif Mohammad, Mushtaq
Mohammad, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf’s fighting exhibitions are well
known among the followers of the game.
Such
role models have enlightened the next generation to strengthen character more
than technique which proves worthy enough at times to survive in the
topsy-turvy world of international cricket.
Cricketers
from Karachi are pretty noisy and being aggressive is something of a matter of
pride for them. Hanif was different, but the others did things by making weather
pretty dramatic and chaotic both on and off the field.
Shafiq
has the grit and fighting qualities of a Karachi street fighter, but he loves
to do things quietly rather than being too aggressive like his predecessors.
Again, he lacks the rush-of-adrenaline of a typical batsman from Karachi is
devoid of velvet in his wrists like his role model Yousuf.
He
can drive the ball and cut it at will, but when it comes to eye-catching
batsmanship , Shafiq is not one of those willow-wielders for which one would
spend his money to watch.
I
am not sure why Mickey Arthur tagged him as Sachin Tendulkar, but in my
opinion, he is more like a modern day
Steve Waugh.
Like
Waugh, Shafiq is blooming late, and his development is evident through deeds
rather than creating hype. Shafiq is not a God gifted talent like Tendulkar,
but more of a symbol of grit who, like Waugh, has the nag to achieve things
through sheer hard work and will power.
From
a technical point of view, Shafiq is better than his colleagues. Especially,
against quality fast bowlers, time and again, he has proved his worth. Be it at
Newlands or Lord’s or Brisbane, Shafiq has shown the habit of using the feet
rightly and playing the ball late by getting behind the line and executing
strokes with soft hands.
He
accumulates runs by finding the gaps smartly, and his batting philosophy is
built more on manoeuvring the strike rather than boundary-based stroke-play.
One might get annoyed by his quiet nature at the crease as the modern day fans
want to witness adventurous batting, but his occupying the crease and un-romantic-nature
of fetching runs help to arrest collapses and build critical partnerships.
At number six, Shafiq is the
stabiliser
Temperamentally,
in my opinion, Shafiq has been already a revolution in the Pakistani batting order. His brave nature to counterattack silently is
giving Pakistan cricket hope as at any moment, Pakistan cricket would be moving
on without their two most obedient servants, Younis and Misbah, and to fill the
vacuum, Shafiq is there.
But
to achieve greatness, Shafiq must learn to be more consistent, and I think, he
can be a consistent run-getter as because, he is patient, passionate and
hardworking by nature.
Note: This article was published
at Sportskeeda on 19/12/2016 A consistent Asad Shafiq can be one of the best in the business
Faisal Caesar
No comments:
Post a Comment