Asad Shafiq

Asad Shafiq is a promising young cricketer who came into the Pakistan team at a time when the team was undergoing a lean patch. He has shown admirable composure and the potential to be one of the bright stars of Pakistan in the future.

He had a brilliant domestic season for Karachi in 2008-09 when he scored 379 runs in the limited overs game at an average of 54. This earned him a spot in the Asia Cup in 2010. He impressed on the tour to England when he scored a composed fifty and played some gritty knocks at number three. He was selected for the Pakistan squad in the 2011 World Cup and did a decent job with the few opportunities that he got.

He scored an aggressive, unbeaten 78 against Zimbabwe at Pallekele but his best knock was in tough conditions against Australia at Colombo. Chasing 177, Pakistan were left floundering after Brett Lee's early burst. However, Shafiq displayed remarkable composure in his knock of 46 and hung in to guide Pakistan to victory by four wickets. This win ended Australia's record breaking 34 match winning streak in the World Cup. He scored a couple of fifties in the ODI series against the West Indies after the World Cup as well. But his form started dipping soon after and he could manage only three fifties in about 15 games. And come September 2012, he was axed out of the ODI side.

Shafiq is seen more as a Test prospect owing to his solidity with the bat. He made his Test debut against South Africa and started off with fifties in his first two games straightaway. On December 9, 2011, Asad Shafiq scored his maiden Test hundred against Bangladesh and since then has been a regular with the side. The selectors have him a good run since then and he was a regular member of the side that took on Zimbabwe, South Africa and Sri Lanka at home. However, his form dipped and he could manage only one fifty in 8 Test matches.

He has scored four fifties and a couple of centuries under pressure, the most notable being the 111 against South Africa on February 14, 2013 in Cape Town when he combined well with Younis Khan to bail Pakistan out of trouble.

His performances in the shortest format of the game have not been so appealing ever since his debut against New Zealand in 2010. He played 11 games in 2013 and managed to score only one fifty which forced the selectors to drop him from the ODI squad after the South African tour. He was also not preferred for the 2012 and 2014 World T20s in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively.