Abdullah Shafique

Abdullah Shafique (born 20 November 1999) is a Pakistani international cricketer who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team across all formats. A right-handed top-order batter, he also plays for Lahore Qalandars in the PSL and previously played for Central Punjab and Balochistan in Pakistan's domestic cricket.

Early life and family
Shafique was born on 20 November 1999 into a Punjabi family in a local town of Sialkot, Punjab. His father Shafiq Ahmed is a long-term resident of Dubai, where he moved in 1991. He was a professional cricketer and later became a cricket coach. His uncle Arshad Ali played international cricket for the United Arab Emirates.

Under the supervision of his father, who has been coaching at the GEMS Modern Academy school in Dubai since 2003 and who has produced more than 20 international cricketers for the UAE, Abdullah began his cricket training at the age of 3 and later integrated the Pakistan under-19 team at the age of 16.

Outside cricket Abdullah also enjoys music, is a singer himself and plays the guitar; different songs he has sung have gone viral.

Domestic career
In November 2017, Shafique was bought by Multan Sultans in the 2018 Pakistan Super League players draft but did not play in the competition.

In December 2019, he made his first-class debut for Central Punjab in the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, scoring 133 runs.

In September 2020, he made his Twenty20 debut for Central Punjab in the 2020–21 National T20 Cup, scoring 102 not out.

As a result, he became the first Pakistani batsman to score a century on his first-class and T20 debut.

In December 2021, Shafique was named in Lahore Qalandar's squad for the 2022 Pakistan Super League season (PSL).

International career
In October 2020, following his performances in the National T20 Cup, he was named in a 22-man squad of "probables" for Pakistan's home series against Zimbabwe.

In November 2020, he was named in Pakistan's 15-man squad for the third One Day International (ODI) match against Zimbabwe, though he did not play. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Pakistan, against Zimbabwe, on 10 November 2020. The same month, he was named in Pakistan's 35-man squad for their tour to New Zealand.

In January 2021, he was named in Pakistan's Test squad for their series against South Africa.

In March 2021, he was named in Pakistan's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against South Africa, and their Test squad for their series against Zimbabwe.

In June 2021, Shafique was again named in Pakistan's ODI squad, this time for the series against England. He was also named in Pakistan's Test squad for the series against the West Indies.

In September 2021, he was named in Pakistan's ODI squad for their series against New Zealand. The following month, he was named in the Pakistan Shaheens squad for their tour of Sri Lanka.

In November 2021, he was named in Pakistan's Test squad for their series against Bangladesh. He made his Test debut on 26 November 2021, for Pakistan against Bangladesh.

In February 2022, Shafique was named in Pakistan's Test squad for the series against Australia. Abdullah Shafique scored his maiden century in the first match's fourth innings. He scored 397 runs during the three Test matches.

In March 2022, Shafique was named in Pakistan's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against Australia.

In May 2022, he was named in Pakistan's ODI squad for the series against the West Indies.

In July 2022, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. In the fourth innings of the first Test, he scored a historic 160* to win the match in Galle.

In August 2022, he was named in Pakistan's ODI squad, for their tour of the Netherlands. He made his ODI debut on 21 August 2022, for Pakistan, against the Netherlands.

In December 2022, he scored his third Test hundred against England at Rawalpindi.

In October 2023, he made his World Cup debut in the 2023 World Cup against Sri Lanka held in Hyderabad, India, and marked the occasion by scoring his first ODI century in his very first World Cup match, leading Pakistan to victory and simultaneously breaking the record for the highest successful run chase in a World Cup match. He scored 113 off 103 balls with a strike rate of 109.71. He also played an inning of 64 runs on 61 balls in a losing cause in his second world cup match against Australia in M.Chinaswamy stadium Banglore on 20 October 2023. On 23rd October, he batted sensibly against Afghanistan scoring 58 runs off 75 balls before being pinned LBW by Noor Ahmed.