Paceman Hassan ready for date with destiny
Now 31, he hasn’t given up hope for a berth in Afghanistan’s 219 ICC Cricket World Cup squad
I have come this far and I am not willing to give up so easily. I know the way will be long and hard, but I will never give up on my dream of playing for Afghanistan again.”
January 7, 2012 is a date Afghanistan pace bowler Hamid Hassan will not forget in a hurry. Headed towards something bigger in his career, it was on this day that a cruel twist of fate changed his life.
While fielding, Hassan was chasing a shot from crossing the boundary line when he landed on both his knees and the next thing he remembered was waking up with excruciating pain in a Dubai hospital. After the MRI, he was dealt the sad news — his left knee meniscus and ligaments had been ruptured and getting back on the field would be a long and tedious process.
Now 31, Hassan is trying to put his life together — alternating between rehabilitation, personal training to keep fit and now a commentary assignment at the ongoing inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). He had turned up for Afghanistan even after the 2012 injury, the last time being in a ODI against England in 2015. But Hassan arguably was no longer the same bowler.
“I have not given up hope of wearing the national team shirt again. Give me another 10 to 12 weeks and I will be up for selection into the Afghanistan squad for next year’s ICC World Cup in England,” Hassan told Gulf News at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Afghan bowler
“I will never give up on my dream of playing for Afghanistan again,” he added.
In Afghanistan’s short but sparkling cricket folklore, Hassan’s name is right up there. In June 2007, he became the first player from the novice cricketing nation to play at the hallowed Lord’s representing MCC against a select Europe XI. A bit taller than 6ft and with a smooth and athletic run-up, Hassan has more than once surprised some of the top batsmen in the world.
That match at Lord’s was a huge step for the bowler who had played much of his cricket without his family even knowing about it. The second of three boys — the oldest Rashid is a doctor and the youngest Shamshad, an officer in the Customs Department — Hassan was supported by his mother and Rashid in playing cricket while growing up in Peshawar. The family had moved to Pakistan when Hassan was six, away war-torn Jalalabad.
Hassan, whose father came to know of his escapades, was given a thrashing and locked him up in a room for a couple of days. However, nothing would deter Hassan from pursuing his dream and he was eventually slotted to tour England with the national side in 2006. There was no looking back for him till that fateful day in 2012 at the ICC Cricket Academy ground in Dubai. “I can never forget that day,” Hassan said. “I have the will to achieve. I don’t care about money or fame. I just want to play cricket again,” he added.
Meanwhile, big-hitting batsman Chris Gayle is expected to light up the APL as he joins up with his table-topping team Balkh Legends today.
Gayle, who signed off with a century in Jamaica’s win against Barbados in their List-A cricket competition on Sunday, landed in Dubai along with the Nangarhar Leopards’ Andre Russell late on Monday.
Hamid Hassan |