Mir Hamza, a good addition to the the pace attack of Pakistan

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the 16-man squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka on Saturday which will be played in the UAE from September 28. Pakistan will play the first series after the retirement of their batting legends Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. The squad consists of a few new names and it also marked the maiden national call-up for Mir Hamza, the left-arm pacer. The youngster is a promising bowler who generates the pace and swing and has troubled a lot of batsmen in the first-class cricket.

The 25-year-old has created a lot of buzz in a very short time with his prodigious swing bowling which has reminded most of Wasim Akram, the former Pakistani great. Hamza’s inclusion in the squad is the testimony of his performances in the domestic cricket. He wreaked havoc with his bowling by picking 212 wickets in only 46 first-class matches which included as many as 20 five-fors. He is also part of the franchise Karachi Kings in Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Part of the national camp

Mir was a part of the national training camp held in Lahore before the squad announcement. He was included in the 18-man probables for the series and was expected to be picked. The left-arm medium-fast bowler was elated after his selection for the training camp and had said that it was the reward of his hard work.

“At this point in time I’ve no words, really, to say except that Allah Almighty has been extremely kind to me. The selectors obviously know better when they thought of me as one of the group [for the camp]. But for me, I would say it is a reward for the hard work I have been putting in to become what I’m now,” he said in an interview to Dawn.com.

Also, since his selection, the video of his swing bowling prowess is going viral and is drawing him appreciation for his skills. In the video, he swings the ball in from way outside the off-stump with pace and castled the batsman who thought it was too far outside and decided to shoulder arms it. He certainly seems to have the ability to move the ball both ways like Wasim and is one to look out for especially in overseas conditions.

Watch the video here

Good to see Mir Hamza named in the Test squad. Has pace, can swing the ball & is a wicket-taking bowler #Cricket #PAKvSL pic.twitter.com/GJW09o0MMC

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) September 23, 2017