The left-arm pacer played one-off Test against Australia in 2018 and since then he has been looking for another opportunity

Pakistan have seen numerous players over the years who wear the Star on their chest for just one game before being sidelined for no apparent reason.

A left-arm fast-bowler from Karachi, Mir Hamza, has faced a similar fate where he debuted in a Test match against Australia on a flat wicket in Abu Dhabi and then dropped from the team.

It has been four years since Hamza delivered a peach of a delivery to clean up the Aussie opener Shaun March.

Since then, the 29-year-old has been looking for an opportunity to represent Pakistan once again and increase his wicket tally.

Till the last season, the talented pacer was also nowhere to be seen in the country’s biggest sporting event, the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he represented his home town and produce some phenomenal spells.

His performance included a match-winning show against arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars, where he took four wickets for just 27 runs and it turned out to be the former champions’ only win in the tournament.

Though Hamza seemed to be nowhere in Pakistan Cricket Board’s plan for the near future, he continues to be impressive in the domestic circuit.

He has played 88 and 79 First-Class and List-A games with 360 and 110 wickets against his name.

The left-arm pacer is hopeful for another chance and is ready to perform at the highest level this time around as he thinks he has learned a lot during the time and he is a different Mir Hamza now.

We sat down with him to learn about his journey, role model, how he is working hard for a comeback, bowling to top Pakistan players, captaincy experience with Sindh and much more.

Early days

Hamza started going to a cricket academy in Zone six after passing matriculation. He was a talented individual and was encouraged by his zone’s head coach to continue his studies and cricket side-by-side.

“After matriculation, I joined an academy in Zone six. My interest started to develop and my coaches encouraged me by telling me that I belonged to the highest level of cricket,” he revealed. “Zone Six’s head coach Azam Khan [Quetta Gladiators manager] guided me to continue studies and play cricket alongside. I was also selected in the U17 and U19 at the Karachi level. The journey started from there,” he added.

Like the majority of Pakistan’s left-arm bowlers, or arguably all around the world, Hamza also started his career after idolising Wasim Akram.

“I followed almost all the legendary Pakistan cricketers but my idol has always been Wasim Akram and still I watch his bowling videos,” he added.

Developing his game

Hamza is one of the few Pakistan bowlers who have excellent command over swinging the ball; however, he thinks he cannot rely on this strength only.

“The level of cricket we are currently playing is quite competitive. You need to read conditions and find weak points of the batters. My strength and advantage is I adopt conditions quickly and bowl tactically,” he maintained.

The left-arm pacer has a natural inswinging delivery, still, he developed his outswinger as he knew that in modern-day cricket, the opponent teams analyse your strengths and weaknesses in detail.

“Inswinger has always been natural with me. I used to beat the batters easily at the start of my career but a bowler can’t just rely on inswingers as batters are ready to tackle it,” he said. “I developed my outswing delivery as it is essential to have both. Inswingers become more vital when you look to plan by bowling a few outswingers and then going for an inswinging delivery. I worked on bowling these deliveries from the same length to make it more effective.”

Hamza emphasised that it is essential to have knowledge about batters’ strengths and weaknesses, which can be gained by watching their videos.

“In domestic cricket, I know the strengths and weaknesses of most batters as we have been playing together for a long time. However, before PSL, county cricket or any such league, I try to watch videos of batters a few hours before the game. I note their shot selections and then I evaluate the outfield and pitch.

Bowling becomes easier if you go through this process. Cricket has become fast and advanced. If a bowler doesn’t know how his opponent players, he will struggle big time in competitive cricket,” he added.

Kookaburra effect

When Hamza debuted for Pakistan, he probably bowled with a Kookaburra ball for the first time in competitive cricket and did not know much about it.

He added that since the board has decided to use this brand of cherries in the domestic circuit, he is better prepared to bowl with it at the highest level of the game.

“My debut Test was in Abu Dhabi, where the wicket does not favour pacers. In domestic cricket, we used to play with duke or grace balls, which had greater bounce but I played with Kookaburra [against Australia].

I bowled well but I couldn’t perform better but got to know that the requirements of international cricket would be different where pitches will be flatter and I would have to practice more with Kookaburra.

“Now, I am ready for the requirements of international cricket and whenever I get the opportunity, I will look to perform. There is a huge difference between today’s Mir Hamza and the one of 2018,” he added.

‘Don’t think much about selection’

Hamza does not believe in paying much attention to the factors that are beyond his control, which includes selection matters. However, what he can focus on is his performance and he has been doing so for years now.

“If a player starts thinking this way, he will not be able to perform. A player only has control over the hard work he puts in, skills, fitness and performance,” Hamza chuckles. “I don’t think much about selection and focus on things I can control.”

PSL’s famous last over

In PSL’s 2018 edition, Hamza was at the non-striker end when Quetta Gladiators’ Anwar Ali faced Peshawar Zalmi’s Liam Dawson in the last over with 25 runs required.

Ali managed to smack three sixes and a four, while three runs were needed on the final delivery. He went for another big hit and it went straight into the hands of the fielder but he dropped the catch.

The match could have progressed to Super Over if Hamza had completed two runs, but he was seen watching the ball instead of running hard.

Karachi Kings’ Mir Hamza celebrates after taking the wicket of Lahore Qalandars’ Fakhar Zaman (not pictured) during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 cricket match between Lahore Galandars and Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore on February 18, 2022. (Photo by Arif ALI / AFP) (Photo by ARIF ALI/AFP via Getty Images)

It resulted in the elimination of Gladiators and their captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and coach Moin Khan were furious at Hamza.

“Moments like these come in every player’s life and will continue to come. It is up to the player how he perceives these things. If one wants to become a great player, he needs to overcome them,” he said.

Having said that, that particular over dented the left-arm pacer big time and he believes that it became a major cause behind no franchise picking him for the next seasons of the league.

“After the incident, I was not drafted by any franchise and it hurt massively but I took it positively. I developed skills for T20 cricket and look to bowl slower ones and yorkers. I made my mind to exploit the new ball at the start of the inning and performed well in this year’s PSL,” he added.

The young pacer is all motivated and just looking forward to receiving an opportunity where can shine and prove his worth.

“I had been performing in red-ball cricket, but I could not do well in white-ball cricket on a bigger stage. I aim to win matches on my own whenever I receive a chance,” he maintained.

Captaining Sindh

Meanwhile, Hamza shared that it was a pleasant experience to captain his province team in the ongoing season.

“I look to accept new challenges and enjoy them,” he said. “I thought I was the captain of the team and not for myself; my decisions and body language were for my team. In First-Class cricket, players only want motivation and push. There have been instances where mid-off and mid-on were up on flat pitches and asked spinners to take the charge,” he said. “I told them to be tactically strong and read the opposition’s mind. I told them to keep a positive attitude regardless of the results.”

County experience

Hamza believes that Pakistan cricketers perform well in county cricket as they are sound tactically and have great game awareness.

“I have played county cricket and can compare players with them. Technically, no one is better than us. We are also way ahead as we know how to play playing mind games and using tactics,” he claimed. “Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq have been performing for so many years. They all are skilful and mentally strong.”

Hamza sounded like a Babar fan as he praised him, saying all the bowlers around the world find it tough to bowl against him as he has very few weaknesses.

“Which area of Babar is not strong? His cover drives are exceptional and back-foot drives are top-notch. He has so much control over his shots that, as a bowler, you get confused about where to bowl. He has performed everywhere in the world,” he added.

The aim

The man who hails from Karachi believes that it is easy to earn the Pakistan cap, but it is tough to cement your position in the team or make a comeback.

“Playing debut game is easy but making a comeback is difficult and sustaining the place in the national team is even more difficult,” he maintained. “We have invested our lives in cricket and if a player has to come back, he must make strong efforts.”