He has already been compared to modern-day great Virat Kohli and Pakistan T20I captain Babar Azam, but young Haider Ali has revealed that he wanted to bat like Rohit Sharma. Ali, 19, considers Rohit as his idol and has stated his desire to bat like the India limited-overs vice-captain. “My idol is Rohit Sharma. The best thing about him is his strike rate and I want that in my game,” said the 19-year-old Haider Ali in a video with Cricket Pakistan. Haider, who represented Peshawar Zalmi in the suspended Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020, recently made headlines with his performances in PSL 2020. Want People to Call Me Babar Azam Not Virat Kohli, Says Pakistan Batsman Haider Ali.

Haider Ali, who made his debut in Twenty20 cricket for Rawalpindi two years ago, scored 239 runs in nine matches for the Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2020 before the tournament was suspended due to the global coronavirus outbreak. The right-hander has been in fine form in the Pakistan domestic cricket. Ramiz Raja Heaps Praises on Peshawar Zalmi Batsman Haider Ali, Compares the 19-Year Old to Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.

Rohit Sharma is My Idol: Haider Ali

Such has been his performances that the youngster has impressed one and all with his batting style and stroke-making. It even prompted former Pakistan batsman and commentator Ramiz Raja into comparing Haider Ali with the likes of Kohli and Azam. ‘‘Haider has immense talent and has made a name for himself in his first season of PSL,’’ Raja has said in a YouTube video.

‘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.’’

‘‘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.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 30, 2020 10:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).