A young Pakistani batsman who is highly rated in domestic circles for his ability to score big once he gets going, Asad Shafiq’s countrymen will be hoping for him to be the shining light to a country already in doldrums.

The right hander, who has played for several Karachi teams in addition to the North West Frontier Province and Sind, made a promising start to his career with a double century in his first season and continued his good form in shorter formats. He came of age with an excellent 2009-10 season which brought him into national reckoning. He ODI debuted in 2010 against Bangladesh and thereafter got an extended run in the ODI series against England the same year when several key players were dropped following the match fixing row. Later that year, he also made his Test debut at Abu Dhabi against South Africa.

A technically gifted batsman with a good temperament, Shafiq has already been predicted to be Pakistan’s future torch bearer. Though that in itself is a huge compliment, Shafiq will know that he cannot rest on his laurels because in a country not known to be patient with his cricketers, a dip in form may result in axing as has happened to several young Pakistani guns before him.