'He really troubles me, can hurt a lot': Hasan Ali picks India batsman as the toughest he's bowled to
In a recent interview, Hasan Ali revealed that of the many players he's bowled to, India's star batsman is the one he's found the toughest.
Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali is one of the top pacers in international today. Along with Shaheen Afridi, Ali has become an important part of Pakistan's fast bowling line-up. With 131 wickets from 54 ODIs and 36 T20Is combined, Ali, 26, is capable of inflicting some serious damage on the opposition. Recently, during Pakistan's 2-0 sweep against Zimbabwe in Tests, Ali picked up two five-wicket-hauls to go with figures of 4/53.
In the 2017 Champions Trophy, which Pakistan won by defeating in the final, Ali was named Player of the Tournament, with 13 wickets and became the fastest bowler in the history of Pakistan cricket to pick up 50 wickets in ODIs.
In a recent interview with Cricwick, Ali revealed that of the many batsmen he's bowled to, India's Rohit Sharma is the one he's found the toughest. Barring the CT final in 2017, Rohit has excelled against Pakistan in the last two ODIs the two teams played against each other. Rohit hit an unbeaten 111 in the Super Four match of the 2018 Asia Cup and followed it with another century (140) in the 2019 World Cup.
"There are a lot of batsmen who on their given day can give you a tough time but from what I've closely noticed, the one batsman I feel can give me a tough time it's Rohit Sharma. We saw it during the Asia Cup and as well as the World Cup. During the Champions Trophy, I didn't have much of a chance to bowl to him but I feel that if it's his day, he can hurt a lot. He really troubles me," he said.
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Rohit has scored 95 runs off 87 balls from Ali, averaging an incredible 95 against the Pakistan pacer with a strike rate of 109.19. Ali has dismissed Rohit once, which was during the 2019 World Cup match in Manchester but not before the India opener had belted the Pakistan bowling attack.
"He has a lot of potential and he can hit you anywhere. He plays the ball late, comes in line of the ball. And the pick-up shot which he plays is not easy. Not everyone can play that and he has this ability," added Ali.