10 Facts about Hamid Hassan: The Afghan Warrior

With a bandana on his head and his face covered in warpaint in the Afghan flag colours, Hamid Hassan is one of the cult figures in Afghanistan cricket. He is the most recognisable face in Afghanistan’s highly rated fast bowling battery. Standing at 5ft 5 in, he can bounce out the batsman with his nippy short length deliveries delivery with a slightly slingy action. He can reverse the ball, york the batsman and swing it both ways; Hassan has all the varieties a fast bowler needs to be successful.

1.Born on:

Hamid Hassan was born on June 1, 1987, in the Nengrakar province of Afghanistan

2. Early life:

Hassan grew up in an Afghan refugee family who migrated to Afghanistan from Peshawar, Pakistan due to war.

3. No cricketing background:

Hassan has no tradition of cricket in his family. He did not play the game until he left school. Initially, his family protested his newly found love but Hamid continued following his passion.

4. Inspiration:

Hamid Hassan admires and follows former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.

5. Accolades:

Hassan was a part of the Afghanistan team which won a silver medal at the 2010 Asian Games cricket competition.

6. First Afghani to play at Lord`s:

In 2006, the right arm fast bowler was drafted onto Marylebone Cricket Club’s (MCC) ground staff and later became the first afghani to play at the Lord’s. There he got the opportunity to meet his hero, Andrew Flintoff. He also grabbed some eyeballs when he smashed quick bumper on Monty Panesar’s helmet in the nets.

7. Under the limelight:

He was first spotted in March 2006 in Mumbai when Afghanistan defeated an MCC side led by Mike Gatting. The then MCC president, Robin Marlar, noticed his potential and was stunned to see him bowling on flat beds. He was later picked to tour England with the national side in 2006 and played several matches against county second XIs with great success.

8. Re-visits to MCC:

In March 2011 he was called up by the MCC to represent them in the Champion County match against Nottinghamshire prior to the 2011 English cricket season.

9. Best career performance:

Hassan’s most memorable bowling performance came in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. In Afghanistan’s 2nd match of the tournament against South Africa, he claimed figures of 3/21 from 4 overs. His wickets were those of Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, and Mark Boucher.

10. Enters the Franchise cricket:

In 2012, Hamid Hassan was bought by Barisal Burners for a reported amount of $40,000 to play in Bangladesh Premier League.