The former middle-order batsman for Pakistan in Test matches, Asad Shafiq, has declared his retirement from all forms of cricket and is anticipated to become a national selector.
Shafiq, 37, was a key member of the Misbah-ul-Haq Test team during the 2010s and helped them to the summit of the Test rankings in August of that year. After leading the Karachi Whites team to the National T20 title and defeating Abbotabad in the Karachi final, he declared his retirement on Sunday. Due to the absence of several players on Test duty, he has consented to play three games for his department side, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, in the resurrected Patron’s Trophy, the premier department team competition. However, the T20 final served as his actual farewell.
Almost ten years after making his debut, Shafiq played the final 77 Test matches for Pakistan in 2020. Since then, he had become a regular on the domestic circuit, although he admitted after the championship match that he wasn’t as enthusiastic about the match as he once was.
“I’m no longer feeling that excitement and passion that I did when I first started playing the game,” he stated. “I wanted to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me during my career.
“I continued to play domestic cricket for three years after I was dropped from the Pakistan team in 2020 in the hopes of being given another opportunity. However, I had already made the decision that this would be my final season before the season began because I believed that, as I approached 38, it was appropriate for me to retire rather than listen to others’ calls to stand down.”
Shafiq, Misbah, Younis Khan, and Azhar Ali established a middle order that served as the cornerstone of Pakistan’s prosperity for the most part, especially during their years in exile in the United Arab Emirates. With 4660 runs at an average of 38.19 by the end of his career, he was close to the mid-40s throughout his finest periods. That resulted in part from him spending most of his Test matches at No. 6, where he served as a link between the engine room and an inherently unstable lower order. Known for having the most hundreds in Test history from that position, he broke Sir Garry Sobers’ record following one of his most famous centuries, a 137 at the Gabba that almost saw Pakistan win in a massive 490-run chase.
That century arrived shortly after he hit 109 at The Oval, where Pakistan won to draw the series and move up to the top of the Test rankings. Following the 2010 spot-fixing controversy, Shafiq made his debut for his country in England. He played his maiden ODIs during that trip and his first Test in November of the same year, when Misbah assumed captaincy. “It was quite difficult after the 2010 incident and we had to win the trust of the public back,” he stated.
While Shafiq awaits the completion of his contract, he can look forward to serving as a selector on Wahab Riaz’s revamp committee in the future.
