The 2020 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) might not have come to a conclusive end amid the coronavirus outbreak. However, the played matches in the tournament saw the rise of many young guns like Mohammad Hasnain and Naseem Shah. However, one player who stood out in the eyes of Ramiz Raja was the 19-year old Haider Ali, who represented Peshawar Zalmi. The veteran commentator heaped praises on the right-handed batsman and went on to compare him with Pakistan T20 captain Babar Azam and Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Well, the two batsmen have proved their mettle all around the world and Raja feels that Ali has similar potential. PSL 2020 Semi-Finals and Final Postponed Amid Coronavirus Outbreak in Pakistan, PCB to Announce Rescheduled Dates Later.

‘‘Haider has immense talent and has made a name for himself in his first season of PSL. However, he needs to bring consistency in his performance and his ideal position is number three in the batting order. He has big quality shots in his armour and doesn’t need to improvise much as his power-hitting base is quite strong,’’ said Raja in a YouTube video.

The former Pakistani captain, however, also said that Ali needs to follow the footsteps of Kohli and Azam in order to become a big name in world cricket. ‘‘Haider needs to follow the approach of Babar Azam and Virat Kohli. These two doesn’t improvise much as they have so much talent and rely mainly on conventional shots. Haider has a similar talent as Babar and Kohli, but just needs to work on his game awareness and play longer innings,’’ he added.

Haider scored 239 runs in 9 matches and played a crucial role in guiding his side to the playoffs. The Peshawar-based team was scheduled to take on Multan Sultans in the 1st semi-final of the tournament. However, PSL 2020 was called off owing to the COVID-19 threat and the revised dates are still to be announced.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2020 04:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).