Allow Pak batsmen to play freely like Sehwag: Basit Ali

Islamabad, Mar.23 : One of the prime reasons young Pakistani cricketers have not made it big on the international circuit is due to them being asked to curtail their natural style of playing.

Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali underlined this problem during an interview with the PakPassion.net and said youngsters like Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Nazir have loads of talent but they have never been allowed to play according to their own style.

Quoting the example of explosive Indian opener Virender Sehwag, Ali said his (Sehwag’s) key to success is that he plays his natural game.

“These (Pakistani) players should have been allowed to play the way they wanted to. The example I like to give is Sehwag – he plays the way he wants to and succeeds. If you tell Sehwag not to play any shots ever and just block, his average will become 18 too, like Hafeez,” Ali said.

Commenting on Imran Nazir’s inability to transform his talent into big scores, he described Nazir as a ‘15 over player.’

 “Imran Nazir is not a player for 50 overs, he’s a player for 15 overs. It is exceedingly silly to use him to bat for 50 overs. He should be told to bat for 15 overs only. If he just bats for the first 15 overs, he can easily score 80 odd runs, and thus get the team to 150 in those 15 overs – job done,” Ali said.