The current Pakistan team might be coached by two of the most decorative batsmen ever produced in the history of Pakistan but for Haider Ali, who has been an emerging talent in the Pakistan setup regards India’s limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma as his role model.
Since his stint in the U-19 World Cup, Haider has been pretty impressive with the bat. The 19-year-old batsmen notched up 239 runs in Peshawar Zalmi’s fairly unsuccessful campaign in the 2019-20 edition of Pakistan Super League.
Rohit Sharma is my role model – Haider Ali
Recently, the selectors drafted the youngster for the upcoming tour of England. Haider Ali recently revealed the swashbuckling batsman from India, Rohit Sharma as his role model. The right-handed batsman wants to pick Rohit’s brain going forward.
“As far as role models are concerned, mine is Rohit Sharma, I really like him as a player, and want to give the side an aggressive start at the top, and hit the ball cleanly like him. He is a man for all three formats, and he can adapt his game to all three formats.
And the thing I like best is when he crosses 50, he moves on to a 100, and then he’s thinking of 150, and even 200. That’s what I want to do: to think about getting big scores, and when I get there, aim for even bigger ones. He finishes the game off for his side, and is a real match-winner,” he said.
Haider Ali, an upcoming bright talent rose to limelight when he scored a half-century in Pakistan U-19’s one-sided loss against India U-19s in the semi-final of the 2020 edition of ICC U-19 World Cup. Former West Indies player and commentator Ian Bishop’s eyes also caught Haider Ali’s attention with his performances as his batting reminded him of Babar Azam.
The Attock born rose to fame during the Pakistan Super League where he finished the season with a strike rate of over 158, only Kamran Akmal & Shadab Khan finished with a higher strike among the Pakistan players.