Hameed: Chat with Kohli was so special
That Haseeb Hameed has come back out to India to support England in these final two Tests says a lot about the youngster, as does his gracious attitude towards Keaton Jennings, the man who has replaced him in the team.
Hameed’s impressive debut series was cruelly cut short by a blow to the little finger on his left hand. It did not stop him scoring one of the bravest half-centuries by an England player in recent memory during his side’s third-Test defeat at Mohali, Hameed batting with his broken joint off the bat to score an unbeaten 59.
The 19-year-old opener, who scored 82 on debut in Rajkot last month, was desperate to play the final two Tests in Mumbai and Chennai. Wisely, though, he went home for surgery, a metal plate inserted into the finger last Friday.
Now, though, he is back and witnessed Jennings, captain Alastair Cook’s 11th opening partner in three years and his own replacement in the team, start his own fledgling Test career with a century. It must have been tough to watch for Hameed, with thoughts of what might have been for himself if only he had remained fit.
Yet Hameed’s class is not just restricted to his on-field performances.
“I’m very happy for the lads, and Keaton in particular,” said Hameed. “To make a convincing start is great for him and great for English cricket.
“But, of course, you want to be out there and be the one performing. I’m sure there’s something better in store for me out there, because of this injury. I’m a big believer that tough times bring out the best in you. I’ve found that in my short career so far.
“I’ve played against Keaton a few times and it’s great to see the way he’s gone about his business today. It’s no different to the way he’s played in county cricket. For him to have made the start he has is great.”
Hameed was selected for the first tour of the winter in Bangladesh, but after missing out on selection in the two Tests there, he was handed a tough debut against India – the world’s No1 side – in Rajkot. He rose to the challenge superbly, with his composed display, especially during that second-innings half-century, making him finally appear the solution to the opening problem that had dogged England since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012.
While Hameed’s tour may have not gone to plan since then, he has enjoyed the experience which we must remember has come after just one full season in Division One of the County Championship with Lancashire.
“It’s been great,” says Hameed. “I’ve loved it. “Every time I went out to bat I was more confident and felt more comfortable. A lot of credit for that must go to the environment the lads have created, both the management and the players. It was easy for me to walk into, and allowed me to go out there and play my natural game and be myself.”
As for the suggestion that he wanted to tape up the broken finger and continue living the dream in this series, Hameed admits: “When I got told, I was pretty taken aback. I didn’t expect it. It was funny because the day before my brother said when will you recover from the break, and I said before the next Test the swelling will go down, I’ll be fine because we’ve got an eight-day break. And then to hear that I had to go home to get surgery, it did hit me, and I was pretty devastated at the time.
“I tried to persuade the coaches and the doctor to find a way to work around that – just take some painkillers and strap it up and just get on with it in the games. But for the long-term benefit it just felt better for me to get the surgery done. Now it’s just a case of getting myself ready for the English season.”
Hameed confirms he will be back batting in the nets again in six to seven weeks. But just how hard was it batting in his last innings in Mohali?
“Obviously if you have a break it’s going to be painful, but I was quite determined it wasn’t going to get to me,” he says. “Okay, I had a broken finger, but I just had to put that to one side and give it my best shot.
“I found that, by trying to get my finger on the bat, it was probably causing me more pain and it felt quite restrictive. So I felt it was better to just hold the bat as hard as I could with the three other fingers. The physio actually said that most of the grip strength comes from the little finger, hence why I I found it difficult to start off with. But the more I batted, the more I felt comfortable with it. It went alright.”
One image of Hameed after the Mohali Test – of him chatting to India captain Virat Kohli – went viral on social media (below).
It was a meeting that shows the willingness of the Bolton-born batsman to soak up everything he can about the game in his quest for improvement.
“I actually took Mo [Moeen Ali] with me,” says Hameed. “I said as a bit of a joke after I found out I was going home, let’s go to Virat and see if I can get hold of him for a couple of minutes, because he’s probably the most sought-after man in world cricket at the minute, so I didn’t want to miss that opportunity. I took Mo with me and within a couple of minutes he came out. He was great.
“A lot of people see him as this aggressive, borderline-arrogant sort of person on the field, but I think it’s pure passion and his desire to win that comes out on the field. But off it he’s very humble, I found, and very open with me. I was very grateful for that.”
We will all hopefully see the benefits of that chat and Hameed’s voracious appetite for improvement and cricket in
the coming years.
A lot of people see Kohli as aggressive and borderline-arrogant, but I think it’s pure passion and a desire to win. He was great