Mohammad Haris comes good to repay Hesson’s show of faith as he shakes his batting slump in style against Oman.
‘Confidence, backing is needed for any player’ – Mohammad Haris repays Hesson’s faith.
Despite the fact that their styles may be completely different, Mohammad Haris will always be compared to his predecessor. It’s considered a selection vindication if he comes off. There will inevitably be rumours about how Mohammad Rizwan’s experience should be better utilised if he doesn’t.
Haris is connected with intent, which has the danger of being hit-or-miss, whereas Rizwan is more of an accumulator. However, he can provide the excitement when he does well. Haris’s recent inability to perform well has been Pakistan’s issue.
Haris’ struggles
Up to Friday, Haris’s highest score in 11 T20I innings since his century against Bangladesh in Lahore in June was 15. Only twice had he reached double figures. The pitches he mostly played on during this journey, from Mirpur to Lauderhill to Sharjah, weren’t particularly suitable for strokeplay.
Then there was the problem of Pakistan’s inability to make good use of him. He batted anywhere from Nos. 3 to Nos. 8 throughout this run of poor scores, which increased the attention. His performance against spin during this time was also starting to raise doubts; he was dismissed five times in nine innings, which supported the idea that he could be worked out by more experienced spinners like Rashid Khan or Kuldeep Yadav.
Mike Hesson’s show of faith
Nevertheless, one guy had whole faith in Haris during this unsure time. Although Mike Hesson has only been in command since June, he felt that this was a skill worth pursuing because of the domination he had occasionally witnessed during training and during the occasional big knock, such as that century in Mirpur.
Haris delivered on Friday against the clock, finishing on 66 after a 32-ball half-century that held out the potential of much more. He would have been extremely confident, though, because it was a knock on a slower-than-normal Dubai surface.
It wasn’t a pretty beginning. In the first over, when Pakistan was a little apprehensive, he limped to 16 off 18. Haris, however, did not throw it away or panic. Aamir Kaleem, who was over 20 years his senior, came on and used a slog sweep to send the left-arm spinner over deep midwicket.
Haris Kicks On
He scored 50 runs in the next 25 balls, including a six to reach his half-century. There was equal parts daring and variety. Seamer Muhammad Nadeem demonstrated his skill in tackling bounce with a short-arm jab. Haris chose his place a little late but made a lovely connection, demonstrating his ability to outsmart the bowler with the off-side ring strengthened.
Samay Shrivastava then demonstrated his strength and game awareness by sweeping off his legspin and aiming for the shorter boundary. It was as much about game sense as it was about muscle. Haris talked about how much the innings meant to him after the game.
“The confidence and backing is needed for any player,” he said of the 11-match slump since his previous century. “The way the captain and coach, and senior players, backed me, I’m thankful to them. It’s tough when performances don’t come – there’s a lot of criticism to deal with, but I took it positively.”
A sign of things to come?
Haris emphasised the necessity for versatility, but even by those standards, he cheekily went too far when he said that he was prepared to bat even at No. 10 if the team requested it.
“I’ve been working hard with the batting coach, working on my calmness, and how to tackle spin,” he said. “The seniors have been helping, giving advice. I wanted to use all that and deliver for the team.”
That’s what he has done thus far. The style of scoring, the intention, the poise, and the sense of community will inspire Pakistan more than the number of runs. Haris’ knock was a hint that the next generation would be prepared to take the lead and produce if they are given the chance, especially for a squad brave enough to let go of the superstars under a coach eager to give them a sense of freedom.