Hasan Ali's claim to fame, till June 4, 2017, was his bowling performances in the Pakistan Super League – its domestic Twenty20 league. One June 4, in the first group match of the Champions Trophy, he bowled 10 overs, gave 70 runs and got one wicket – that of Yuvraj Singh, leg before after a review was called by his skipper Sarfraz Ahmed. Now, things have changed for the 23-year-old pace bowler, hailing from a little known place called Ludhaywala near the Gujranwala town in Punjab province, Pakistan. He has hit the jackpot post that match taking three wickets in every match that followed, and emerged as the most successful bowler in the tournament.
Hasan Ali made his debut in August 2016 against Ireland. Ever since then, he has played 20 ODIs – his total wicket tally being 39 till now with an economy rate of 5.57.
When one talks about Ali, this infamous story is sure to come up. After a match played by his team Peshawar Zalmi in the first edition of the PSL, Ali was brought to address a press conference. A senior journalist objected and asked, “Who is he?” To add insult to injury, the journalist further said, “Is do daant ke bakre ko kyun lekar aaye ho yahan?” (Why have you brought a lamb to the slaughter house/media conference?).
The young bowler has silenced his critics (and how!) with his performances in the Champions Trophy. The most notable fact is that Ali has been at his most effective during the middle overs. The same phase at which the Indian batsmen look to maximise their run accumulation. He is difficult to score off in the middle overs, as England found out the hard way. His economy rate is 3 in this period. Ali's strength is not speed, but his accurate length that makes it difficult for the batsmen to score off him.
Former Pakistan medium pacer Mohammed Akram has been Ali's mentor and tutor. Speaking from Peshawar about his protege, Akram, who is currently head coach of Peshawar Zalmi, said, “I liked three things about Hasan Ali when I picked him. His wrist position, his seam presentation and his hunger to learn and do well.”
Akram's belief in Ali's abilities stemmed from the latter's keenness to work on his bowling. This is seconded by Pakistan's current bowling coach Azhar Mahmood during the tournament.
Ali, along with Junaid Khan (making a comeback) and Rumman Raees, have bowled yorkers in death overs apart from sending in the slow bouncers. Pakistan has perhaps been the only team to gain some success with reverse swing especially in the middle overs. If Mohammed Amir returns to the side for the final, then Ali will be Pakistan skipper's go to man for breakthroughs and at the death.
