Shafiq seeks maiden tons on West Indies tour

Agencies

“The conditions (in West Indies) will be different but as a professional player, I am ready to face the challenges.”

KARACHI: Having cemented his place as a reliable middle-order batsman, Asad Shafiq has set his sights on scoring his maiden Test and limited-over centuries.

Shafiq, who had been in and out of the Pakistan cricket team prior to the World Cup 2011, is all but certain to keep his place following a string of impressive performances at cricket’s biggest tournament.

“My aim, now, is to score my maiden hundreds during the West Indies tour,” Shafiq told APP on Saturday.

While the Karachi-based batsman’s highest one-day international score is 78, which came against Zimababwe during the World Cup and is his only half-century, he has played a number of crucial knocks in the middle order. One such innings came against Australia in Pakistan’s final group match, where Shafiq combined with Younis Khan and later Umar Akmal, to steer Pakistan’s chase in the vital encounter.

“I learned a great deal by playing those high-intensity matches during the World Cup.”

While he made vital contributions in two of Pakistan’s successful run-chases at the tournament, Shafiq was dismissed for 30 in the semi-final against India and Pakistan went on to lose the match.

“Losing that match was a huge disappointment for me personally, and also for the team,” said Shafiq.

With the World Cup now over, Pakistan are set to depart for the West Indies next week and Shafiq says he wants to play a few big innings for the team.

“I am gaining a lot of confidence with each match and hopefully that will help me improve my performances on the tour.”

The series will be Shafiq’s first tour to the Caribbean, but the 25-year-old has played two away series in the last few months. He was part of Pakistan’s ODI squad in the series against England last summer, as well as being part of the UAE-based series against South Africa. Shafiq also accompanied the team during the December-February tour of New Zealand.

“The conditions (in West Indies) will be different but as a professional player, I am ready to face the challenges.”

The Pakistan cricket team will leave for the Caribbean next week, after meeting with the Prime Minister in Islamabad.