Want people to call me Babar Azam not Virat Kohli, says Haider Ali

Fast-rising Pakistan batsman Haider Ali, who made a name himself in the PSL, wants to be talked about like Babar Azam and not Virat Kohli. The 19-year-old picked Babar, Pakistan’s T20I skipper, over Indian captain Virat Kohli. Haider was recently a part of the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2020 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) where he became the talk of the town by his jaw-dropping strokeplay. There he scored 239 runs in nine games, striking at 158.27. Ali was impressive in the Under 19 World Cup and was one of the stars in the Pakistan Super League. His highest score in the PSL came against Lahore Qalandars when he scored a swashbuckling 69. 

“A batsman can never become like his role models, but can improve himself and develop shots like they play. I want to improve myself to the extent that people call me Babar Azam and not Kohli because Babar has good shots", said Haider Ali as quoted by Hindustan Times.

“I met Babar Azam during the first-class tournament and he gave me tips regarding my batting. We also get to learn a lot from him in the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. He also supported me during PSL by boosting my confidence and advising me to keep scoring runs and leave the rest to Allah Almighty.

Haider Ali, the young Pakistan batsman, is widely tipped to be the next big player from the country. The Attock-born was also a part of Pakistan’s U19 squad for the 2020 World Cup in South Africa. In that tournament, he scored 56 against Priyam Garg’s India in Potchefstroom. He now wishes to model himself on Babar, who was the leading run-scorer of this PSL with 345 runs at an average of 49.28. Ali said he wants to learn from Kohli too but Azam is his role model.

“I cannot become Kohli but can develop shots like him through practice. I’m Haider Ali so I can only become Haider Ali,” he added.