The next time I play Virat Kohli, I will definitely try to take his wicket, says Hasan Ali

09/07/2018

Hasan Ali has made public his desire to take the wicket of Virat Kohli the next time he faces him as the Pakistan team gears up for a tricky Asia Cup campaign, which will start on September 15. Kohli has been rested for the tournament as Rohit Sharma was named the captain of Indian cricket team.

The Pakistan cricket team are bracing themselves for an intense test in this month’s Asia Cup that will be played in the UAE. They would go up against the likes of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and India, whom they beat in the final of last year’s ICC Champions Trophy. Pakistan would hope to repeat the same performance this time round as the two teams face-off for the crunch clash on September 19.

However, Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali has revealed his disappointment at missing out on an opportunity to go up against one of the leading batsmen in modern limited-overs cricket - Virat Kohli. Lavishing praise on the Indian skipper, who has been rested for the Asian showpiece Ali hoped to claim his wicket sometime in the near future.

"Virat Kohli is a very good player. Everybody knows that he is a match-winner. Despite his absence from the squad, India still have a very good team. They have many more players. The advantage to us is that the way Virat Kohli can handle the pressure, someone else who comes in his place might not be able to.

"As a youngster, everybody wants to take Virat Kohli's wicket but unfortunately he isn't coming. The next time we compete, I will definitely try to take his wicket," said Hasan during Pakistan's pre-tournament camp at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, reported PTI.

Like Kohli, Hassan has created waves with his fitness routine practices. The youngster’s recent fitness test made headlines back home, as they claimed Ali to achieve a score of 19.8 in the Yo-yo test, which was well above the 17.4 benchmark set by the PCB. Hasan also added that he was working hard on his fitness to be at his best physically across all three formats.

"As a youngster, you want to keep yourself fit and look after yourself," he said. "I have played all three formats and playing all three formats is a burden on the body. On top of that, you need to perform as well.

"Looking at all three formats, you need to increase the level of your fitness which is why I have focused more on my fitness. There is no need for comparison with Virat Kohli. He is my senior. He is a legend. He himself is fit. I focus on my fitness because that brings me consistency." Ali added.

The next time I play Virat Kohli, I will definitely try to take his wicket, says Hasan Ali

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