Knock! Knock!
Open the door!
I have to ask you a question!
Do you know Abdullah Shafique?
Surely, you don't know him or bother to care for him because he is not seen in funky dresses in the commercials and dances like an idiot when the circus shows go on. And, he doesn't have a contract in the idiot premier league or any other premier leagues. And, no one went Gaga for this lad because he did not hit two or three big sixes and became a sensation to the paid experts.
Well...
Shafique is just another Pakistani opener, who had arrived in the international arena only to be faded away as the rest did before?
Since that majestic pair of Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar parted ways from international cricket - the Men in Green could hardly find a stable Test opener or an opening pair - openers came and go and some raised hopes and quickly faded. Well, when Shafique went out to bat for the first time in Test cricket; he was rated as just another Test opener who had been included only to complete the final XI.
Shafique made his first-class debut in 2019, for Central Punjab in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, scoring 133 runs. He had a moment to relish in the shorter format at the domestic circuit, but keep in mind, anyone can do such even without proper technique, still, he was hailed and included in the T20 team - 41 runs came off against Zimbabwe, while two ducks against New Zealand in 2020 dented his confidence, and as usual, he was forgotten because at present - the performance in the circus shows matter so much!
But someone like Misbah-ul-Haq, who was the coach at that time and has a piece of sound knowledge of the game and captained Pakistan successfully in test and limited-overs format, backed this boy. Misbah pointed out that Shafique had a very good technique and mentally, he was mature enough to take on big responsibilities.
Pakistan's experiment with Imran Butt failed and it was time for Shafique to become another experimental project - but after almost 5 months, project Shafique is reaping a rich harvest and I think, even the Pakistanis can't even believe it.
Within 11 innings in Test cricket, he is sharing the platform with Sir Don Bradman, George Headley, and Sunil Gavaskar - the 23-year-old averages 79 with the bat in Test cricket till now!
The bulk of the runs have come on subcontinental pitches and apart from Bangladesh, you can count Australia as one of the best against whom he averages 79.40, and the hard nut to crack Sri Lanka against whom he averages 173.0 at present!
His mental aspect could be realized since the tough Test series against Australia at home - but like every cricketer, he also had his moment to elevate his level and that came at Galle in the first Test against Sri Lanka, where Pakistan were given a tough total - 342 - to chase in the fourth innings.
Pakistan were given a paltry total to chase in Galle back in 2009, but they succumbed to Rangana Herath and when the matter is about chasing totals - Pakistan have always been on the back foot most of the time even with batters like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Younis Khan or Mohammad Yousuf.
At the backdrop of such a record and memory of 13 years ago, Shafique cashed on his mental aspect.
He could realize what triggered the downfall of Pakistani batters in the first against Prabath Jayasuriya - the straighter ones against which the Pakistani batters committed shots too early and lacked astute footwork.
Shafique took caution over aggression and decided to leave those deliveries on a deck that becomes a stage for the sacrificial ceremony to the spinners on the final two days.
He had full control over his technique as the backlift hardly erred while executing the defence and scoring shots. His footwork seems to improve each day and surely playing against Nathan Lyon a couple of months ago has added a great value to his repertoire.
Ramesh Mendis and Jayasuriya kept on attacking the middle and off and varied their flight and length to distract Shafique and there were moments when he was totally beaten, but still, managed to bury the fear of getting out and continue to hold one end and add enough fuel to keep the innings moving - moments of stagnancy could pile pressure and invite a collapse - Shafique's mature mind could realize that and thus, maneuvering the strike became his force to counter the threat.
Courtesy of Shafique, Pakistan managed to chase down 342 runs - a massive chase and one of the best in the history of Pakistan cricket given the fact - as far as fourth-innings hundreds go, this was one of the toughest assignments - only three batters have ever done at Galle before, and only one (Dimuth Karunaratne 122 vs New Zealand in 2019) in a victory.
A marvelous hundred - a hundred to build a superb career and Shafique and the selectors must keep the faith in this boy rather than messing around.
Now you know, who Abdullah Shafique is, don't you?
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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