Harsha Bhogle: “I cannot even imagine that there could be a debate on whether Abdullah Shafique makes the Pakistan ODI team. Cut from a different cloth”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Renowned cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle firmly believes that Pakistan opening batsman Abdullah Shafique is officially undroppable from the ODI team.
Shafique was one of the standout performers for the men in green in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The 24-year-old was initially not in the playing XI, but got given a chance to show what he could do after replacing Fakhar Zaman after the opening game against the Netherlands.
Shafique wasted no time in stamping his authority as he smashed a career-best 113 in his first game against Sri Lanka before going on to follow it up with fifties against Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Overall, the Sialkot native made 336 runs in eight games at an average of 42.
“I cannot even imagine that there could be a debate on whether Abdullah Shafique makes the Pakistan ODI team. Cut from a different cloth,” Bhogle said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan triumphed over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before suffering four straight defeats to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to get them into the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign on a low as England battered them by 93 runs.
Shafique will now represent Pakistan in the upcoming three-match Test series against Australia, which will start on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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