Failed Azhar-Shafiq transition spells impending doom for Pakistan batting

145 overs and 653 minutes later, the Australians breathed a sigh of relief. Usually, such exhalations directly reflect teams expressing their relief over beating bad weather to a result or knocking over a frustrating last wicket partnership but on that day in Brisbane, it was neither. It was Australia relieved that they, after setting a target of 490, narrowly avoided being defeated at the Gabba for the first time in 28 years, it was Australia relieved that they weren’t on the wrong side of yet another 400-plus fourth-innings chase and it was Australia relieved that their bowlers were ‘finally’ spared from the genius of Asad Shafiq, whose 137 almost turned out to be the catalyst for what would have been the greatest chase in Test history. 

Together in 69 innings since the retirement of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq have combinedly averaged a paltry 31.76. Here are two men, who spent the entirety of the first half of their Test careers learning and thriving under the tutelage of two of the best in the game’s history, who, when left on their own, when it was their time to take charge, have looked clueless, befogged and incapable of marshalling the side forward. This was never meant to happen, for both were old and experienced when they took over the mantle, yet it has. And what it has essentially done now is leave Pakistan in danger of encountering a low like never before when their time eventually comes to an end. Going by current form, that might not be very far away.  

Abid Ali might have had a brisk start to his Test career, but he is 32 (soon to be 33) and his tons have come against largely toothless attacks on flat surfaces; Shan Masood is probably the best of the lot, and his century at Old Trafford was a testament to his quality, but he, too, has quite a long way to go in Test cricket; It remains to be seen how much of his domestic cricket shenanigans Fawad Alam can replicate - if he’s given an extended run, that is - and the man whose absence in the squad enabled Alam to get a Test match, Haris Sohail, is himself 31, largely unproven against any quality bowling attack in challenging conditions. 

In any other team, in any other era or in any other circumstance, the shortcomings of Azhar and Shafiq would not have been that big a deal or might not have that big an impact or effect, but their withering form is proving to be catastrophic for Pakistan - not in the short run, but in the long haul. At a time where both Azhar and Shafiq were expected to don the roles of Misbah and Younis, take responsibility, score a heavy load of runs to protect their teammates, allow them to thrive and perhaps even enable Pakistan to unravel the next Azhar and Shafiq (or Mis-You, whatever you may want to call it), their no-show has instead left the team in quite a precarious situation. 

Pakistan will also, on top of Azam having to carry the side single-handedly, when Azhar and Shafiq invariably leave the set-up, be up against the challenge of integrating the next generation of youngsters (preferably) into the team who, they think, will be talents worth investing on. This is easier said than done, for since 2014, barring Azam, no Pakistan batsman below the age of 30 has featured in 15 or more Tests. The batsman who came closest to the number is opener Sami Aslam - who debuted as a 19-year-old in 2015 - but he, too, was left out of the side after 13 Tests - in which he averaged a tad over 31 - and has not played a Test in over three years.

Time and again, they’ve also found themselves going back to the older players - Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar and now Fawad Alam - with minimal success. Thus to say that the management and the selectors will have their task cut out, in terms of reassembling the side post the inevitable fallout, will be an understatement.  

But such is the sport and this whole Azhar/Shafiq fiasco is yet another cruel reminder of its unpredictability. Their decline has all but ensured that Pakistan will be in for a rough year or two, or perhaps even longer than that, but the least they can do is show solidity, come the third Test and help keep their side’s record in England intact. The two young men who batted oh-so-fearlessly at the Gabba four years ago might be long gone, but if there’s any time for them to rewrite a foregone conclusion, this is it.