Pakistan Test opener Abdullah Shafique is an emerging star for Pakistan Test cricket. The right-handed batsman seems to be a fan of Liverpool’s coach Jurgen Klopp as he talked about him during a conversation.
“It is his mentality about coaching and his attitude towards the game,” Shafique tells BBC Sport.
The 23-year-old played only 7 matches till now and already averaging 66.90. He has scored 736 runs in 13 innings with 4 fifties and 2 magnificent centuries and has shown the sort of characteristics that would fit into the team Klopp likes to call “mentality monsters”.
After his debut in November last year, only England’s former captain Joe Root has faced more deliveries than him. Pakistan fans will get to see him play against the English side in the three-match Test series.
“My nature is I have to fight until the end, If I am batting or fielding, I have to stay there and fight. That is my thing.” Said Shafique.
England’s illness could delay Pakistan Test by a day
England Test Skipper Ben Stokes is among those impacted players and it is believed to be a bug or virus rather than Covid, with England making their final training session ahead of the Test match on Wednesday morning optional.
Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, and Joe Root reported for the practice session at the stadium in Rawalpindi – taken by head coach Brendon McCullum – with the rest remaining at their Islamabad base. Root experienced symptoms on Tuesday but has since recovered.
“I wasn’t feeling great [on Tuesday] but woke up better this morning, so hopefully it is just a 24-hour thing. I have not managed to see many of the guys so we will see how everyone is traveling when we get back to the hotel,” Root told to SkySports.
“We have tried really hard to do all the right things in making sure we are ready and prepared for this game but sometimes life throws these things at you. We will try to make sure we are as ready as we can be.” He added.
