Asad Shafiq aims to carry on Misbah, Younis' legacy in Australia Test series

Pakistan cricket team’s middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq on Sunday said that he aims to carry on the legacy of his former teammates Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan in the upcoming Test series against Australia.

Shafiq, in an interview with Geo News in Karachi, said that he has added responsibility on his shoulders following the retirements of the experienced duo but made it clear that he does not feel overburdened by it.

“I don’t call it a burden but [of course] my responsibilities have increased after their retirements," the 33-year-old batsman said. "I have realised that it is [now more] important for me to stay at the crease and score as many runs as possible."

Shafiq recalled that during Misbah and Younis' era, the rest of the team members felt that they had a security blanket, knowing that the experienced duo could handle the situation in any circumstances.

In their absence, Shafiq said that he has set himself a target of becoming Pakistan's top scorer in Australia.

In addition to individual goals, he says he also hopes for better results in the series this time.

“We haven’t won any Test series in Australia so far and we’ll go to Australia with aim to change that,” he said.

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“Our batting unit did well last time but bowling couldn’t perform according to expectations. We learned from our mistakes in previous tour and I hope that we will produce better results as this time we have a good blend of youngsters and experienced players,” he said.

Shafiq, however, is well aware of the challenges he could face in Australia in the two-match Test series.

“It will be a tough challenge as wickets there would be different from what we have been playing on regularly. But good thing is that we all have been playing domestic cricket, which has given us good match practice ahead of the Tests,” he concluded.