Babar Azam: “The pace Ali Raza has at his age is really impressive”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam has praised 18-year-old fast bowler Ali Raza, saying the pace he possesses at such a young age “is really impressive”.
Raza has attracted plenty of attention with his bowling speed, which has hovered close to 150 kph.
Many believe the teenager could earn a call-up to the national team soon, particularly after his performances for the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year.
Raza only played five matches but claimed 10 wickets at an average of 16.80 and an economy rate of 9.78.
“The pace Ali Raza has at his age is really impressive,” Azam, who captained the Zalmi, was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X.
Raza has been playing domestic cricket as he was involved in the National Champions Cup, a 50-over competition, where he took one wicket in three matches for Pakistan Whites at an average of 76.
Right now, he is playing first-class cricket and is representing Ghani in the President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament. In two games, he has picked up two wickets at an average of 86.50.
Raza was not selected for Pakistan’s recent three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which the men in green won 2-1.
He also failed to make the cut for the ongoing ODI tri-series against Sri Lanka and England.
Pakistan’s Squad for the ODI tri-series against Sri Lanka and England: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufyan Moqim