Ian Bishop Praises Abdullah Shafique With Unique Literary Comparison Mentioning Allama Iqbal
Former West Indies fast bowler and renowned cricket commentator Ian Bishop drew an interesting comparison between Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique, linking the Pakistan batting duo to Sialkot’s rich literary heritage.
Commentating during the ongoing 2nd Test match, Bishop highlighted that both Babar and Abdullah hail from Sialkot, a city known for producing some of Pakistan’s greatest literary figures.
“The interesting story about these two batsmen is that Sialkot has produced some of the finest poets and writers, including Allama Iqbal, Parveen Shakir, and Faiz Ahmed Faiz,” Bishop said.
He then shared a lesser-known story behind Abdullah Shafique’s nickname.
“Fittingly, Abdullah Shafique was nicknamed ‘Kitabi’ by Babar Azam, not because of literature, but because of his textbook batting technique,” Bishop added.
Abdullah Shafique marked his return to Test cricket with an unbeaten century to put Pakistan in a commanding position against West Indies on Day 2 of the second Test at Queen’s Park Oval.
Playing his first Test in 10 months, Shafique remained unbeaten on 107 from 185 balls, including 10 fours and two sixes, to guide Pakistan to 266/2 at stumps.
The visitors trailed West Indies’ first-innings total of 344 by only 78 runs, with captain Babar Azam unbeaten on 86 from 126 deliveries.
Abdullah Shafique had featured for Lahore Qalandars in the Global Super League (GSL) only last week before being drafted into Pakistan’s Test lineup as Shan Masood’s replacement.
The right-hander also batted at No. 3 for the first time in his Test career and adapted comfortably to the new position.
Pakistan suffered an early setback when Imam-ul-Haq was dismissed for 14 with the score at 34 in the eighth over.
Abdullah Shafique then joined Azan Awais and helped Pakistan recover through a 64-run partnership for the second wicket.
Awais played an attacking knock of 55 from 71 balls, hitting 10 boundaries, before Jomel Warrican trapped him lbw in the 21st over.
Babar Azam walked in at No. 4 and combined with Shafique to take complete control of the innings.
The pair added an unbeaten 168 runs for the third wicket, keeping the West Indies bowlers wicketless for the remainder of the day.
Babar Azam struck 10 fours and a six during his unbeaten knock and moved within 14 runs of his first Test century against West Indies.
Earlier, West Indies resumed their innings at 239/5 and were bowled out for 344 in 105.4 overs.
Justin Greaves scored 73, while captain Roston Chase contributed 70. Sajid Khan led Pakistan’s bowling attack with figures of 4/85, while Mohammad Ali, Ali Usman and Ubaid Shah claimed two wickets each.
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