Hasan Nawaz Lauded as ‘Quality Player’ by Pakistan’s White-Ball Coach

KARACHI: Mike Hesson, the head coach for Pakistan’s white-ball team, has praised the emerging batter Hasan Nawaz as a ‘quality player on the rise’.

Hesson shared his views on Instagram, reposting a statistical analysis from a cricket news platform. The analysis highlighted the significant variations in Nawaz’s batting statistics, specifically his averages and strike rates, during the powerplay overs versus the later stages of T20 Internationals this year.

According to the statistics, Hasan boasts an average of 35.4 with a strike rate of 162.8 when batting during the powerplay. However, he has also recorded five ducks.

Conversely, in the post-powerplay phase, his average rises to 49, and his strike rate increases to 172.9, with no ducks.

Reacting to these statistics, Hesson commended the young player, who has accumulated 284 runs in 12 T20I appearances, including one century and one half-century.

“Certainly a quality player on the rise,” Hesson stated in his Instagram story.

Nawaz, who debuted for Pakistan in the opening T20I against New Zealand in March, has experienced a somewhat inconsistent career thus far.

The right-handed batter endured a tough beginning to his T20I journey, getting dismissed for a duck in his initial two innings. This unfortunate feat placed him among a small group of players with this record, and as the second Pakistani to achieve it.

However, Nawaz displayed resilience in the third T20I, where he achieved a remarkable turnaround by smashing a century off 44 balls – the fastest by any Pakistani batter in the T20I format. His innings propelled his team to a significant nine-wicket victory against New Zealand.

Despite that performance, the 22-year-old has struggled to maintain consistency. He has recorded four additional ducks and now holds a joint-second position on the list of Pakistani batsmen with the most ducks in men’s T20Is.