Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, has revealed that he likes the batting style of the opening batter, Abdullah Shafique, saying they usually compare him with Kane Williamson and Rahul Dravid as his stance is very impressive.
Speaking to the media, Babar said, “I personally watch and definitely enjoy Abdullah’s stylish batting. He plays very clean, his stance and the way he ducks the ball are impressive. Usually, we compare him to Kane Williamson and Rahul Dravid. We call him Dravid.”
The young right-handed batter has been in supreme touch since his debut in November 2021. He was very impressive during the Australia series as he scored 397 runs at an average of 79.40 including one century and two half-centuries.
Answering a question regarding the exclusion of Shan Masood for the upcoming series against West Indies, Babar said that the selection committee keeps team’s interests as top priority.
“In the presence of Abdullah, the place of opener Shan Masood, another polished batter, may be in doubt, but our main aim in selecting an individual is the team’s interest,” he added.
Shan Masood has been scoring runs everywhere since the start of this year. He remained the third-highest runs scorer in PSL and is among the leading runs scorers in County Championship which is why his exclusion from the squad raised questions.
Commenting on next month’s three-match ODI home series against the West Indies, the all-format captain said that the Caribbean team has the ability to give tough time to every team however, they will try their best to get maximum points in the series.
“They play bold cricket and can upset every team on a given day. Therefore, we will try our best to go for big wins in order to earn maximum points to make Pakistan strong for the [50-over] 2023 World Cup,” he said.
