Bipin Dani
Cricket is in the blood of Abdullah Shafique, who on Wednesday hit the double ton in the 2nd and final Test match against Sri Lanka at the SSC ground.
His father Mohammad Shafiq Ahmed played 26 First Class matches and his uncle Arshad Ali played four ODIs for the UAE team.
Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Sialkot, the father said, “It is a very happy moment for all of us when my son could score a double century today. We were a little worried when in recent times he was not in form and failed in the first Test match in Galle (scoring 19 and 8 runs). I spoke to him after the first Test and tried to motivate him and told him to think positively and work hard for the next Test. He was middling the ball well but could not score big runs. I also admired his fielding at forward short-leg and now we are so happy for his recent performance”.
In fact, the father, who is living in Dubai and a coach in the Gems School, has been a constant driving force to his two sons and a daughter. He is on a vacation and holidaying in Pakistan now.
The father was confident when at the end of the second day’s rain-curtailed play his son was unbeaten on 87. “I had advised him to keep himself calm and concentrate on a hundred. Try to begin the innings with a fresh mind and stay at the wicket as long as you can. He at last converted the first hundred into a double hundred and became the second youngest Pakistani to do so and we are proud of his outstanding innings”.
“He is trying to become a world class player. After the end of the Test I will speak to him more”, the dad concluded.
