We're Hoping to Get Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq to Play Some County Cricket - Mickey Arthur

In the wake of a disastrous batting show that resulted in a heavy defeat in the second Test against England, Pakistan head coach, Mickey Arthur said the likes of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq could benefit from playing county cricket.

Pakistan had begun the series on a stunning note, routing England by nine wickets at Lord’s. The win had put them on the verge of winning their first-ever Test series in England.

However, their batsmen dashed their nation’s hopes with dismal performances in both the innings. England bowled out the visitors for 174 and 134 to win the game by an innings and 55 runs.

The batting performance made it clear there is still a lot of work to do to make this batting unit a reliable one. And coach Arthur feels Azhar and Shafiq, the batting mainstays of this team can benefit from county stints.

Somerset and Surrey are on the lookout for replacements for Matt Renshaw and Virat Kohli, respectively and have been in touch with the Pakistan duo to lock in a deal at the earliest.

“[Of] Our chosen players, we’re hoping to get Azhar and Asad to play some county cricket,” Arthur said. “There is a little bit of interest at the moment, for a short period of time. Because those guys don’t go to these leagues and stuff; if they were to play county cricket, we’d certainly encourage that.”

While Pakistan won the series in Ireland and the first Test in England, there were concerns over Azhar Shafiq’s form throughout.

Azhar averaged only 16.75 from four innings while Shafiq managed little better with 91 runs from three innings at 30.33 including a half-century.

Arthur said the lack of competitive cricket might have been the reason behind the duo’s lukewarm performance. Prior to the tour of UK, Pakistan last series was against Sri Lanka last October.

“I know Azhar Ali, I know Asad Shafiq, I know their work ethic. Everybody knows the standards they have to meet. When they arrive to the team, they will be there physically, mentally and technically because they have to be. That is the criteria we set for them. I’d love to see them do county cricket. It is more time for them playing cricket and that’s got to be beneficial to us,” Arthur said.

“I thought Asad played well this tour. Azhar will tell you himself he was a little short this tour. But he is a quality player – Azhar playing well is in the top 10 Test batsmen in the world.”

The former South Africa and Australia coach further called out skipper Sarfraz Ahmed to start churning out runs. The right-handed batsman managed only 31 runs from three innings at an average of 10.33.

“Sarfraz has been disappointing this tour and he knows that,” Arthur said. “I’m talking only with the bat – his keeping has been very good in the last two Tests. I’m very comfortable and I know he’ll come right. What he needs to work out is the balance between keeping, batting [at number 6] six and captaincy. That’s got to be his challenge going forward. I know he can handle that. He’s determined, he’s very passionate for this team and he’s a skilled batsman. Hopefully runs are around the corner for him.”