Haider Ali hopes to perform well in T20 Blast

Both Haider and Falcons didn’t have a great first outing in the tournament

By Imran Munawar/Saima Haroon
May 22, 2023
Haider Ali speaks during an interview with Geo News — File

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistani batter Haider Ali, who is playing for Derbyshire CCC in this county season, has said that, so far, he’s quite satisfied with his performance in the county championship.

Haider was speaking exclusively to Geo News after the opening game of T20 Blast tournament at Edgbaston.

Both Haider and Falcons didn’t have a great first outing in the tournament. The swashbuckling opener was out on the very first ball of the tournament as Derbyshire lost the match by four wickets against Lancashire Lightning.

In a post-match interview, Haider said that he’s disappointed but it’s just the beginning of the tournament and his intentions are clear that he wants to give his hundred percent to the team.

“It’s my first ever county season with Derbyshire, the coaching staff and fellow players are fully supporting me. It’s not possible to score a century or a fifty every time when you go out in the field to bat. This is part of the game but what I can do is to make a full effort to perform. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season,” he said.

This was only Haider’s second T20 game on English soil. He made his T20I debut for Pakistan in England back in 2020 at Old Trafford, Manchester scoring a 50 in his first international match for the national team.

“I’m very excited to play in T20 Blast as these games are very competitive and some very experienced and exciting players are participating in it. Also, these matches are broadcasted live on TV so really want to show my performance in the tournament,” he said.

“Good thing is that there’s time to learn from our mistakes as we are set to play fourteen group matches before the knock out stage so I’m hoping for better performances in coming games. Fans do have high expectations from us but we have to play according to team’s requirement. We try our best to give what is good for the team,” he added.

Haider so far has played some decent knocks in the County Championship which also include two fifty plus scores. He said that he is satisfied with performance in the first-class games and the club management has fully facilitated him with all the requirements to excel his game.

“Batting consultant Ian Bell and coach Mickey Arthur are working hard with me and all the players. We’ve been given extensive practice sessions by them and they are always backing us up. If if we don’t perform well in a match they will urge us to keep our chins up and do better in the next game,” he concluded. 

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