Azhar Ali: A solid top order batsman for Pakistan

Since making his debut against Australia at the home of cricket (Lord's) during Pakistan team’s tour of England in 2010, Azhar Ali has cemented his place in Test cricket as a top-order batsman.

He is lucky enough to have been given a long run at the International stage to prove his worth and has definitely not let the selectors down through some consistent performances in the longer version of the sport against the top teams of the world.

Azhar is fortunate that he belongs from a family which has a sporting background. His father was an athlete himself and that was the reason why all his sons played cricket at the club level. Azhar Ali’s elder brother, Ashraf Ali is also a first-class cricketer and just like Azhar, he is a prolific batsman in the domestic cricket of Pakistan.

Azhar was in love with the game since he was a kid and started to play club cricket with his elder brothers. He came through the ranks of junior cricket in Lahore and then went on to represent Pakistan Under-15s and Pakistan Under-19s.

He started playing cricket as a right-arm leg spinner and soon got the attention of the junior selectors because of his bowling action, which was similar to his role model Mushtaq Ahmed.

That was also the reason why he got picked for the Costcutter Under-15s World Challenge in 2000. Later on he played the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2002 in New Zealand as a leg spinner as well and made his first-class debut in the same year representing Lahore.

The budding cricketer was soon employed by Khan Research Laboratories because of his skills with the ball. Azhar continued to play the domestic cricket but struggled to perform and went through a decline as a bowler because he was facing a lot of difficulties with his bowling action.

In 2006, he made the decision of his life and decided to take up batting more seriously, becoming a top-order batsman who could bowl part time leg spin.

In his very first season as a batsman, Azhar scored 2 hundreds and as many half-centuries in five matches to cement his spot in KRL’s playing eleven. His brilliant performances continued for four consecutive years as he is currently averaging 38.04 in first-class cricket and has scored eleven hundreds.

Azhar’s consistent showings in first-class cricket earned him a Test Cap in 2010 when the Pakistan team did not have the services of Mohammad Yousaf and Younis Khan in the all-important tour of England. Since then, he has played 12 Test matches for Pakistan on the trot and is now a permanent member of the batting order at the all-important number three spot.

The Test specialist has scored 783 runs in Test cricket so far with an impressive average of 37.28 runs per innings with the help of eight half-centuries.