We compare Abdullah Shafique to Dravid and Williamson: Babar Azam

India's Rahul Dravid and New Zealand's Kane Williamson are known for their watertight batting technique. Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who himself has a very sound approach, has compared Abdullah Shafique's batting to both Dravid and Williamson.

Speaking to Dawn News, Azam said, "I personally watch and definitely enjoy Abdullah's stylish batting. He plays very clean; his stance and the way he ducks the ball are impressive. Usually, we compare him to Kane Williamson and Rahul Dravid. We call him Dravid.

"In the presence of Abdullah, the place of opener Shan Masood, another polished batter, may be in doubt, but our main aim in selecting an individual is the team's interest."

Shafique made his Test debut for Pakistan last November against Bangladesh, scoring two fifties in Chattogram. However, the 22-year-old grabbed all headlines when he amassed 397 runs in the home series against Australia.

The youngster played a crucial part in Pakistan's historic Test match, which they drew after batting two full days in the fourth innings. He, alongside skipper Babar, batted for 86.4 overs, helping his team archive the inevitable. 

After his spellbinding efforts, the Sialkot-born was added to Pakistan squad for the ODI series against the visiting West Indies for the three-match series, of which all matches will take place at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on June 8, 10, and 12.

Speaking about the visitors, Babar commented, "They play bold cricket and can upset every team on a given day. Therefore, we will try our best to go for big wins in order to earn maximum points to make Pakistan strong for the [50-over] 2023 World Cup. 

"Our first priority is our team; we prefer the best side for each series, and that is done while announcing the team for the next series," he concluded.