PSL 2023: Abdullah Shafique believes its wrong to associate players with formats

ISLAMABAD: Lahore Qalandars' top-order batter Abdullah Shafique feels that it is not the right approach to associate any player with one certain format.

In an interview with Geo News on the sidelines of Qalandars’ practice session at Islamabad Club, the batter said that the basics of cricket do not change with the format and a player just needs to make minor adjustments according to requirements.

“Your basic remains the same, whatever format you’re playing. It is not the right thing to say that a certain player is suitable for only one format. It is important that we see how a player is putting in effort and doing his hard work,” he said.

“In T20s, you need to have a better strike rate and I think I am doing that well. I am not doing it to satisfy anyone else, I am doing this for my own’s satisfaction,” said the top-order batter.

The 23-year-old is usually considered a red-ball specialist, he has represented Pakistan in 12 Test matches scoring 992 runs at an average of 47.23.

Though he has played three T20Is and one ODI, he didn’t get a proper run in white-ball cricket for the national team.

In Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023, playing for Qalandars, Abdullah has scores of 75, 45, 15 and 48.

“I am satisfied with my performance and happier because my team is winning, we became the first team to qualify for the playoff stage which is a good feeling,” he said.

“Shaheen has been superb as team leader, he keeps everyone gelled together and keeps everyone motivated even if one is not able to perform so that the confidence doesn’t shake,” said Abdullah.

Abdullah said that he tries to learn new things in every match and every training session and aims to adopt things which can help him learn things beneficial for the future.

He mentioned that Fakhar Zaman and Sam Billings are two flamboyant batsmen and he is seeking guidance from both batters.

Replying to a question, Abdullah said that everyone has their personal goals in every tournament but the most important is to contribute towards the team’s success.

“I try to play according to my team’s requirement and contribute more and more to the team’s success,” he said.

“We have got the momentum and we will try to carry this into remaining matches as well,” the top-order batter said.

Abdullah said that having top bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Rashid Khan around in the same dressing room is a blessing for him.

“While as a professional you have to be ready to face any bowler but any batter in the world would prefer to avoid facing such bowlers, I am glad that I don’t have to contest against them but I would add that facing them in net sessions prepare me well to face any bowling attack,” Abdullah concluded.