Pakistan speedster Mir Hamza: “I was telling myself I have to prove myself if I want to play international cricket for my country. If you look at my last few matches, I bowled well but didn’t take wickets. So I wanted to change that”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Mir Hamza said he knew he had to prove himself during the three-match Test series against Australia as he hadn’t taken wickets in the last few games he played for his country.
Hamza was not included in the playing XI for the first Test in Perth, but did feature in the second and third Tests in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.
The 31-year-old did incredibly well in both matches and finished with seven wickets in total at an average of 20.71.
“I was telling myself I have to prove myself if I want to play international cricket for my country. If you look at my last few matches, I bowled well but didn’t take wickets. So I wanted to change that,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Despite Hamza’s impressive bowling, Pakistan ended up losing the series 3-0.
The men in green then played a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which they lost 4-1.
Hamza will now represent the Karachi Kings in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which will take place from February 17 to March 18 in Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
Karachi Kings Squad for PSL 9: Shan Masood (captain), James Vince, Hasan Ali, Shoaib Malik, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Akhlaq, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Tim Seifert, Mohammad Amir Khan, Anwar Ali, Arafat Minhas, Sirajuddin, Saad Baig, Jamie Overton