Hassan Ali targets the wicket of Hashim Amla in the World XI series

One of the major finds for Pakistan in their victorious Champions Trophy campaign this June, fast bowler Hassan Ali went ahead and claimed that he would dearly want the wicket of South African limited overs opener Hashim Amla in the upcoming Pakistan-World XI ‘Independence Cup’.

Ali, who was the leading wicket keeper in the multilateral tournament with 13 wickets, gained his reputation of a fearsome bowler renowned for his unique generator style celebration. In the recently concluded tournament, it was opener Fakhar Zaman and Hassan Ali who were the major finds for Pakistan by the virtue of Pakistan Super League (PSL).

After being taken to the cleaners in the first pool match in the tournament against arch rivals, Ali picked up a three wicket hauls in all the successive matches in the tournament including the finals against India. His spells against South Africa, Sri Lanka, India and England in the semi-finals helped the men in green win the coveted Trophy.

Pakistan has not played any cricket since their maiden Champions Trophy victory even though the Hassan Ali is currently enjoying his stint in the Carribean Premier League (CPL) with St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots captained by Chris Gayle.

Hashim Amla’s dismal tour to England

In the interim, Hashim Amla had a forgetful tour of England this summer by his standards in both ODIs and Tests, unlike the last time around in 2012 were brought up his maiden triple hundred in Test cricket. He could only smash a ton and 4 half centuries in bilateral ODI and Test series and Champions Trophy combined.

The World XI side will be captained by the Protean skipper Faf du Plessis. David Miller, Morne Morkel, and Imran Tahir are the other members from the South African side to take part in the series. The other stalwarts in the team are Tamim Iqbal, Paul Collingwood, Grant Elliot, Darren Sammy and many others. It would now be interesting to watch-out for the face off between Ali and Amla.