Pakistan's Haider Ali should draw inspiration from Virat Kohli, Babar Azam: Ramiz Raza

Former skipper Ramiz Raza has heaped praises on Pakistan batman Haider Ali, saying that the latter has emerged as one of the most promising stars from the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Raza further said that Haider should follows the footsteps of Indian captain Virat Kohli and fellow countryman Babar Azam to turn out as the match-winner for the country.

The 19-year-old young batsman, who featured for Peshawar Zalmi in the 2019-20 edition of the PSL, notched up a total of 239 runs in nine matches he played for the side at an impressive strike rate of 158.25. 

Haider also featured for Pakistan in the Under-19 World Cup, where he scored a half-century during the national side's unsuccessful semi-final clash against arch-rival India. 

Lauding Haider for his hitting techniques, Raza stressed that the Pakistan young batsman's playing style is quite similar to that of Kohli and Azam and that he just needs to bring up some consistency in his game in order to achieve success.

"He needs to be consistent. His ideal position is No.3, because he has the ability to play big shots. He doesn't need to improvise – he has so many quality shots and his power-hitting base is so strong," the International Cricket Council (ICC) official website quoted Raza as saying in a video on his YouTube channel.

"His template should be Virat Kohli or Babar Azam – these players have staggering numbers despite not improvising too much, because they have such strong skills and conventional shots that they can be consistent and be match-winners," he added.

Besides Haider, Raza also hailed left-hand opener Zeeshan Ashraf--who represented Multan Sultans in the PSL.

"His strike-rate of 133.07 is good for an opener.There's a fine line between a pinch hitter and opener, and I think he ticks both boxes ... He has talent and a bright future," the former Pakistan skipper concluded.