Azhar Mahmood: “Mir Hamza is a good swinger of the new ball”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood has heaped praise on left-arm seamer Mir Hamza for his ability to generate good swing with the new ball.
Hamza has been a dominant force in domestic cricket, picking up 454 wickets in 118 first-class matches at an average of 22.66.
As a result, he has started being picked more regularly in Pakistan’s Test squad, but has not been included in the playing XI for every game in a series.
For example, in the three-Test series against Australia from December 2023 to January 2024, the 31-year-old only played in two matches and took seven wickets at an average of 20.71.
As for the recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh, he didn’t play the first Test but was selected for the second game, where he claimed three wickets.
Despite this, Mahmood stressed that Hamza is a useful asset for Pakistan as he possesses useful traits that benefit the team.
“Mir Hamza is a good swinger of the new ball,” he was quoted as saying by PakPassion.
Pakistan ended up losing to Bangladesh 2-0 even though they played both matches on home soil in Rawalpindi.
Hamza is currently in action in the Champions One-Day Cup, which is a domestic 50-over competition taking place in Faisalabad.
In four games for the Dolphins, he has picked up six wickets at an average of 30.50.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-Test series against England, which will be held from October 7 to 28 in Multan and Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Squad for 1st Test against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi.
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