Pakistan’s emerging batsman Asad Shafiq is disappointed that he could not fulfill the dream of scoring his maiden hundred on the recent West Indies trip. “It was a great learning experience. And intriguing and interesting indeed for me in the Caribbean Islands. But I am not fully satisfied with my showing with the bat,” he said. “I found the playing conditions in the West Indies quite different from what I had heard from the seniors,” he added.
“The pitches were conducive and favourable for spinners. Personally I was expecting bouncy and swinging track,” he commented. “International cricket is quite difficult and I am working hard to improve my batting technique and play long innings to establish myself and serve Pakistan with honour,” Asad said. He admitted that there was a big gap in Pakistan’s domestic and international cricket. “With the passage of time I am learning and my mission is to be consistent and deliver in the interest of the team,” he added.
The diminutive right handed batsman said that he was looking forward to the tour of Zimbabwe in the next couple of months. Commenting on the captaincy of Shahid Afridi, he said “Afridi is always very supportive and motivates the young players to perform to their best,” he maintained. He said coach Waqar Younis was very helpful and he gave all kinds of advice when needed most. Shafiq said like everybody else, he was disappointed on losing the last two ODIs but added that the West Indies came back strongly and bowled and batted well.
He said paceman Ravi Rampaul and leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo really performed well to put the pressure on Pakistan. He denied the impression that in the absence of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Pollard, West Indies team was not at full strength. “They have got a number of young players with experienced Sarawan and Chanderpaul in the line-up,” he pointed out. “After West Indies tour, playing in Ireland was very different,” he said. “Overall I believed that I should have contributed in a big way for the team,” he added.
