Ramiz Raja Lauds Hassan Nawaz’s Century

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has commended Quetta Gladiators’ young batsman Hassan Nawaz for his scintillating century against Islamabad United on Wednesday. He characterized the innings as both ‘exceptional and thrilling’.

While acknowledging Rossouw’s performance, Raja emphasized that Nawaz’s innings held greater significance.

“Hassan Nawaz’s innings was a complete package and a treat to watch,” he stated.

The former cricketer also drew attention to Nawaz’s astute understanding of the game during his partnership with Rossouw.

“He consistently rotated the strike, ensuring Rossouw maintained his flow, while also maintaining his own scoring rate. This is indicative of a clever batter — contributing to the team while keeping up his individual pace,” he noted.

The former PCB head highlighted that Nawaz’s innings was crucial in Quetta surpassing the 250-run mark.

“Without Hasan’s composure and sensible batting, the team wouldn’t have achieved that total,” Raja remarked, giving credit to the young player for setting up the victory.

He also voiced his surprise that Nawaz was not selected as Player of the Match.

“He perfectly paced his innings, remained in control throughout, and accelerated when necessary,” he concluded.

Notably, the 26th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 10, which took place at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, saw Quetta Gladiators achieve a dominant 109-run win over Islamabad United.

The Gladiators’ decisive victory was powered by two remarkable centuries — Rilee Rossouw’s 104 runs and Hasan Nawaz’s explosive 45-ball century, which included nine sixes and four boundaries.

Nawaz also accomplished a notable feat, becoming only the second Pakistani batter—after Babar Azam—to record centuries in both the PSL and T20 Internationals (T20Is) within the same year.

This memorable performance also marked the first instance in PSL history of a team having two centurions in a single innings, with both Rossouw and Nawaz reaching the milestone for the Gladiators.