Hashim Amla : Man of the Moment

After browsing through various online Arabic dictionaries, I finally figured out the meaning of the word Hashim – Destroyer of evil. And by Hashim Amla’s exceptional performances, I can definitely say that he has atleast justified the first half of his name. Amla has always kept things to himself. He is one of those cricketers who come to the field, play their game and leave. Amla always stays away from the paparazzi avoiding the limelight, and that is one of the major reasons why he got noticed only few years back; although he has been a consistent performer throughout his career. I still remember the test against Sri Lanka in 2006, where a stupid commentator called Amla “terrorist” in one of his comments, and Hashim as always maintained his cool and never reacted back to that comment in media. From that day onwards, my respect for him has been building up. Speaking of his nature and devotion towards the game, I see Sachin in Amla. Maybe the numbers say a different story, but when it comes to calmness and patience Amla is Sachin’s shadow. He has the same complacency and is always at peace of his mind. And the fact that his ancestors hail from Gujarat (my home-state) makes me all the more proud and happy.

Taking Amla’s immensely impressive recent form into consideration, finding a weakness in his game seems a pointless exercise. An elegant stroke player, gifted with the proper temperament of playing match-winning knocks has made him a consistent asset to South Africa. A test average crossing over 65, an ODI average touching 60 and also a huge pile of runs piling up day after day, this man is having the time of his life. Amla’s reputation as a classy batsman made him a persistent member of the Test team, but being a slow learner delayed his introduction to limited overs cricket. But once he arrived in ODIs, his success was immediate.

The only format of cricket in which Amla is yet to make a mark is Twenty20. He has played 13 innings, all as an opener, scoring 252 runs in total at an average of 23, but he is yet to record a half century. “I’m relatively inexperienced in the Twenty20 format,” Amla said on the eve of South Africa’s first match of the World Twenty20. It is not that his cricket is not suitable to this format, and he has given evident proof of that time and again, the most recent one was when he became the fastest man on this planet to score 3000 runs in just 57 innings, beating Sir Vivian Richards by 12 innings. But, something is preventing his success in the shortest format of the game. Perhaps he has not yet warmed to the game, and the infrequency of the matches has not helped the problem. Taking a look back at history, Amla was an average batsman for the initial 30 something tests, but then in 2010, 2 centuries in 3 tests against India changed it all. Since that day there has been no looking back for him. In ODIs as well the same spectrum was followed, wherein efforts were put in to tune his batting style, and the results have been spectacular. So when gradually the mental and technical flip happens in T20, run machine Amla will not take time to fire down opponents’ army in style.

Speaking of comparisons on a critical note, I think comparing Hashim Amla with legends like Jacques Kallis, Kumar Sangakarra might not be wrong, but I think it’s a bit too early as he has been in the game for the past 6-7 years, whereas these guys have been around since the early 90s. Even though some years down the line, Amla might step into their shoes in various teams, but right now comparison is not what needs to be done. For now, Hashim Amla needs to concentrate on his skills and technique in all the formats, and hopefully some years later he might take over as the captain of the South African national team.

So this is Hashim Amla from my side. A quiet man, devout Muslim and also the possessor of the the most impressive beard in the game.