Pakistan may currently be coached by two of their most famous batsmen, but for inspiration, the newest member of their squad is looking slightly east. The Attock-born Haider Ali, who rose to national prominence after scoring a half-century for Pakistan in an otherwise painfully one-sided defeat to India in the Under-19 World Cup semi-final earlier this year, views India’s Rohit Sharma as his main inspiration.
“As far as role models are concerned, mine is Rohit Sharma,” Haider said in a video press conference. “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…