Shane Watson: “What an innings from Abdullah. He really made a statement… with 113 when his country needed him to stand up as an opener”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson believes Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique made quite a statement with the bat during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Given the opportunity to replace Fakhar Zaman at the top of the order, the 23-year-old from Sialkot was incredibly impressive as he racked up a number of big scores, including a career-best 113 against Sri Lanka.
The Sialkot native also struck half-centuries against Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which may have earned him a full-time opening spot going forward.
Considering the tough job he had to do when Pakistan called on him, Watson applauded Shafique for rising to the occasion and putting on a show.
“What an innings from Abdullah. He really made a statement… with 113 when his country needed him to stand up as an opener,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In the World Cup, Shafique ended up making 336 runs in eight games at an average of 42.
Pakistan won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before stumbling against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite fighting back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, Pakistan fell short in their bid to make it to the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, the men in green also lost their last group stage game against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali
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