Jason Gillespie: “Irfan Khan Niazi is one of the hardest hitters and cleanest strikers of a cricket ball in Pakistan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie said batting all-rounder Irfan Khan is “one of the hardest hitters and cleanest strikers of a cricket ball in Pakistan”.
Irfan is a newcomer to the national team, but has started being utilised more often.
He wasn’t part of the team for the 2025 Champions Trophy, but did feature in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, where he made 36 runs in four games at an average of 12.
Having seen how much talent the 22-year-old from Mianwali has, Gillespie hopes he keeps getting more opportunities in the future.
“Irfan Khan Niazi is one of the hardest hitters and cleanest strikers of a cricket ball in Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
Pakistan are now playing a three-match ODI series against New Zealand and Irfan started off his campaign with three wickets in the 1st ODI in Napier.
However, he failed to have an impact with the bat as he was dismissed for a golden duck as the men in green went on to lose the match by 73 runs.
The 2nd ODI will be held on April 2 in Hamilton.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir