Haider Ali doesn’t want to be like Virat Kohli, aspires to be like this Pakistani batsman

Pakistani young cricketer Haider Ali who plays for the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has said that he wishes to be called Babar Azam for his batting and not Virat Kohli. 

The 19-year-old batsman praised Pakistan’s T20I skipper stating that he would pick Babar Azam over the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. He also said that he likes both the batsmen but he would still follow the footsteps of the former. 

Haider appeared on a Youtube video when he said that he admires the stroke-play of the Babar Azam and also said that he wishes to be just like the current number one ranked T20I batsman in the world. 

“A batsman can never become like his role models but can improve himself and develop shots as they play. I want to improve myself to the extent that people call me Babar Azam and not Kohli because Babar has good shots,” as he said in the video quoted by Cricket Pakistan.  

However, the talented Haider said that he can learn from some of Virat’s exquisite shots. “I cannot become Kohli but can develop shots like him through practice. I’m Haider Ali so I can only become Haider Ali,”  he said.

Haider also thanked Babar for helping him with his techniques during a first-class tournament at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore ahead of the PSL this year. 

“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 at 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 added.

Playing for Peshawar Zalmi this year, Haider Ali has scored 239 runs in 9 matches at the strike rate of 158.27