5 things to know about Mohammad Shahzad
In the last few years, Shahzad has been instrumental in Afghanistan's meteoric rise in cricketThe journey of the Afghanistan cricket team is one that brings hope and joy to every cricket fan, if not every human being. They have risen from the ashes their country has been plunged for the last few decades to become one of the best-performing minnows in the recent past.From being appointed an International Cricket Council (ICC) Affiliate nation in 2001, they have come to feature in the top 10 of the ICC T20I Rankings, only below India and six points above Bangladesh, and also in the top ten of the ODI Rankings.Becoming an Associate Nation in 2013, Afghanistan's meteoric rise is nothing short of being commendable. From losing both their matches in the 2010 World T20, Afghanistan's first major global tournament, they have come a long way to making it to the top ten of limited-overs cricket. From being bundled out for 80 in their group match against the mighty South Africa in the World T20 in 2010, Afghanistan has taken the cricketing world by storm, playing a brand of fearless cricket and being ready to take the opposition on.A perfect embodiment of the fearless cricket that the Afghans play is their wicketkeeper-batsman, Mohammad Shahzad, who has created a name for himself in the last few years. Shahzad is known for his power hitting and is not shy to take on any bowler.Shahzad, who was was born in the Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan, made his debut in international cricket as a 21-year-old at Amstelveen in an ODI match against the Netherlands. Although his career did not start off on a very bright note, in the last few years he has grown into a very threatening batsman at the top of the Afghan batting order.Before 2014, he batted most innings at No.3, but, it did not seem to bring the best out of the 27-year-old batsman. Since the start of 2014, Shahzad has been batting mostly as an opener, and this seems to have worked wonders for the attacking batsman.In ODIs since the start of 2014, in the eight innings that Shahzad has batted at No. 2, he has scored 365 runs at an average of 52.14, scoring his first (and only, so far) ODI hundred. He has a strike rate of 92.18 in ODIs which is a good number considering that he has played 39 matches.However, his T20I record is even better as he averages over 30 in the shortest format, a good figure for any batsman. His strike rate is an excellent 135.98 having played 38 T20I matches.Here we take a look at five things you need to know about Mohammad Shahzad:
#5 Massive fan of MS Dhoni
Both Mohammad Shahzad and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are wicketkeeper-batsmen who can hit the ball quite powerfully to clear the boundary ropes. But, that is not where the similarities end; both their initials and nicknames are the same – MS.
Another similarity between the two is playing the helicopter shot. Not many people have been able to emulate the great Indian captain's trademark shot. During the 2012 World T20 against India, Shahzad made his attempt to play the helicopter shot and hit Zaheer Khan for a boundary.
In 2014, Shahzad was so impressed by Dhoni's mohawk hairstyle in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) that he went and got one for himself.
During his first meeting with Dhoni, in 2010, Shahzad wanted to gift his wrist watch to the Indian captain. “When he met the first time, I spontaneously gifted him my wrist watch, but he turned down my request. When I was being very insistent, he said that he would accept the watch when we meet again,” Shahzad said in an interview.
Shahzad sees Dhoni as an inspiration, both in front of and behind the wickets. This adulation that the Afghan cricketer has for the Indian limited-overs captain has led to him being called MS by his teammates.
“He is a great cricketer, a cool captain and a wonderful person. I always wanted to sit with him, talk to him, discuss cricket. He has talked to me about how to maintain yourself as a cricketer, how to handle the pressure. My helicopter shot is for Dhoni - to acknowledge that I am his big fan.
“I felt so good when he once introduced me to someone as a friend of his. I was flattered. His behaviour and attitude have increased my respect for him,” Shahzad said in an interview with ESPNCricinfo.