Pakistan pacer Hassan Ali has on Thursday (July 1) admitted that it’s never been easy for a fast bowler to make a come back after a back injury, but believing in himself and hard work made it possible for him as he ended up being the top wicket-taker this year with 40 wickets.
Ali made a remarkable comeback to the international arena after missing cricket for two years due to a back injury and the bowler credited his wife Samiya Arzoo, teammate Shoaib Malik and former captain Shahid Afridi for the inspirational comeback.
Hassan returned to the Pakistan side in the two-Test match series against South Africa in January-February and took 12 wickets to help the team win the series 2-0 at home.
He has so far played 11 international matches this year and snared 40 wickets with four five-wicket hauls in an innings and one ten-wicket haul in a match and the cricketer said playing domestic cricket helped him a lot.
Ali told the official website of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB): “It has never been easy for a fast bowler to come back after a back injury but I want to thank my wife, family, Shoaib Malik, and Shahid Afridi who kept me motivated and focused on cricket. Nothing is impossible in life, if we believe in ourselves and work hard, we can achieve desired results and I am an example of it.”
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He added, “The performances in the domestic season helped me regain confidence which later helped me to perform in international cricket again. I always prefer fearless cricket but featuring in first-class cricket helped me a lot. Performing well in those nine matches of Quaid-e-Azam trophy 2020-21 has given sheer confidence to me to gear up for a successful international comeback.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan team is currently in England to play three ODIs as part of ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League starting from July 8 and as many as T20Is, and Ali said this is very important for them.
The 26-year-old further added, “The white-ball series against England is very important for us, as England are the World Champions in ODIs and are also the top-ranked side in T20Is. England has been always lucky to me, as I have my great memories from England tour in the past, winning ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 in England is on top of it.”
After recovering from the injury, Hassan has scored 139 runs at 23.16 in 11 international games and he was happy to contribute to the team with the bat as well.
He signed off by saying, “I always wanted to become an all-rounder, and I am happy besides my bowling, I am contributing in a team with my batting as well. While I was away from cricket for two years due to injury, I worked on my batting especially hard-hitting ability at NHPC.”
(With ANI Inputs)
