Haider Ali inspired by Rohit Sharma's 'free-minded' batting approach

PSL 2021: Haider Ali inspired by Rohit Sharma's 'free-minded' batting approach

February 27, 2021
Haider Ali inspired by Rohit Sharma's "free minded" batting approach 

Karachi: Peshawar Zalmi’s young batsman Haider Ali on Friday revealed his desire to emulate Rohit Sharma, saying he wants to be as free-minded as the Indian star batter.

In the post-match interview after Zalmi’s nail-biting win over Quetta Gladiators, the 20-year-old said that Sharma has always been his favorite batsman.

“My favourite player is Rohit Sharma," he said. "I’ve always liked him and want to emulate him as he plays with a free mind. I want to do the same.” 

Haider, who has represented Pakistan in 10 T20 Internationals and two ODIs, feels that playing international cricket adds to a player’s responsibility as people always expect more from those who don international caps.

“Once you play for your country then people’s expectations increase which make you work even harder and give a 100% in each game you play,” he said. “I try not to disappoint fans who have expectations from me.”

The Zalmi batsman further said that his goal for the ongoing season of Pakistan Super League is to become the best batsman. “I want to be the best batsman here and even if I don’t then I want to be among the top five batsmen of PSL,” he said.

Talking about the victory against the Gladiators, the right-hander credited it to team work. 

He also hoped that Zalmi would continue the winning momentum in matches to come.

“Everyone contributed towards the win. Imam scored at the start, Shoaib Malik chipped-in in the middle and then towards the end it was Rutherford who did it for us. So it was a collective effort,” Haider said.

Read: Peshawar determined to put a dampener on Islamabad’s hot start

Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.

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