Picture by Aamir Qureshi/Getty Images. Yorkshire new boy Abdullah Shafique celebrates after scoring a century for Pakistan against England in Multan last October.
There is a YouTube video entitled Babar v Abdullah Shafique. Who plays the best cover drive? That gives you some kind of idea on the type of player Yorkshire are getting.
Shafique has signed a short-term overseas deal with the county to play in both the Rothesay County Championship and the Vitality Blast over the next month.
The Pakistan international batter arrives at Headingley on the back of an impressive Pakistan Super League, which saw him win the title with the Lahore Qalandars and finish fourth on the competition’s leading run-scorer’s list with 390 in 13 appearances.
He scored 41 in the final win over Quetta Gladiators last month.
Classy, wristy, powerful, he batted at three in that campaign, and White Rose fans will no doubt enjoy watching him during the latter stages of the Vitality Blast.
Fingers crossed, that title-winning feel – he has actually won three PSL titles in the last four years – can transfer across to the White Rose.
Just as important, however, is his pedigree against the red ball.
Picture by Aamir Qureshi/Getty Images. Abdullah Shafique bats for the Lahore Qalandars en-route to winning the 2025 Pakistan Super League.
Right-handed Shafique, aged 25, will play two Championship matches against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge and then Essex at York later this month.
He has reached three figures 11 times in 41 first-class appearances, including five times in 22 Test Matches.
Shafique has two first-class double centuries to his name, including one in Tests – 201 against Sri Lanka at Colombo in July 2023.
The vast majority of his first-class hundreds, including both doubles, have come as an opener, though his most recent, whilst captaining Eshaal Associates in the President’s Trophy competition back in February, came batting at three.
Shafique has played 52 times for his country across all formats. He debuted in T20 cricket in 2020, Tests in 2021 and in the ODI arena in 2022.
He scored 102 in the first innings of the famous Multan Test last October, which England won on the back of Joe Root scoring 262 and Harry Brook 317.
It’s a shame he won’t be lining up alongside those two during his stay with Yorkshire, though you never know what might happen in the future if this next month or so goes well for a player who first picked a bat up at the age of three and spent time during his youth living in Dubai, where he learnt the game.
Picture by Aamir Qureshi. The Yorkshire connection. Abdullah Shafique (far left) shakes hands with Harry Brook as Shan Masood does likewise with Joe Root during last October’s Pakistan versus England Test series.
His father was also a pro cricketer, while his uncle – Arshad Ali – played four one-day internationals for the United Arab Emirates between 2004 and 2008.
Away from the game, Shafique likes to sing and play the guitar.
You never know, maybe he can lead the odd victory song during his time at Headingley!
