Monday 31 March 2014

Ahmad Shahzad - Is he the new Virat Kohli?

Read a lovely article on Ahmad Shahzad in CricInfo by Kamran Abbasi. His hundred yesterday against Bangladesh has made him the first Pakistani to have a hundred in all 3 forms of the game. To be honest I haven't seen a lot of him yet, but it is being suggested that he bats a lot like Virat Kohli with correct technique and taking mimimal risks yet scoring briskly. I look forward to watch more of him.



Many Pakistani batsmen in the past have flattered to deceive. Some names which come to mind immediately are Yasir Hameed, Imran Nazir, Umar Akmal is taking a long time to blossom and so on. Fawad Alam has been talked about a lot also. Nasir Jamshed got a few hundred against India, but is out of favour now. Asad Shafique has good technique & temperament but hasn't made it big thus far.

 Another name which comes to mind is from more than 20 years back, Shoaib Mohammad, son of the legendary Hanif Mohammad. He started his career with a double hundred if I remember correctly.Because of his lineage (the Great Mohammad Brothers of Pakistan comparable only with the Grace Brothers) a lot was written about him but alas he had a very limited technique and very few scoring shot. He had grit and hence Imran Khan took a liking for him. He went on to play some really tedious innings. He surely wasn't in the same league as his illustrious father and uncles but one cannot fault him for not trying. Mansoor Akhtar had a great domestic record but could never translate that in International Cricket. Mohsin Khan, who has a double hundred at Lord's and many fine innings against Australia away from home, was lost to the glamour world of Bollywood. Asif Mujtaba was also a good player who somehow couldn't make it big. Basit Ali, was hailed as the new Miandad. Very similar style of batting as the inimitable Miandad. But Basit paid the price for being the whistleblower in the match fixing episode alog with Rashid Latif.

 Hope Ahmad Shahzad doesn't join this list and realises his full potential.




















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