Irfan Pathan: “Abdullah Shafique is [the] next big thing for team Pakistan. He [has] got [the] proper technique to survive at this level”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan believes opening batsman Abdullah Shafique “is [the] next big thing” for Pakistan.
Shafique was brilliant during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup as he amassed 336 runs in eight games, which included a century and three fifties, at an average of 42.
It should be noted that the 24-year-old from Sialkot was not in the starting XI to begin with, but was called up to replace Fakhar Zaman after the opening game against the Netherlands.
From there, he didn’t look back and made a major statement with the bat on the biggest stage of all.
Having seen what Shafique accomplished, Pathan has no doubts that the talented youngster can “survive at this level.”
“Abdullah Shafique is [the] next big thing for team Pakistan. He [has] got [the] proper technique to survive at this level,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before succumbing to defeats at the hands of India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite fighting back to secure consecutive victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to make it to the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, the men in green lost their last group stage game against England by 93 runs.
Shafique will now play in Pakistan’s 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