Mohammad Shahzad considers MS Dhoni as his role model.
India and Afghanistan played out a brilliant tie in their Asia Cup Super Four clash on Tuesday. This result meant that Afghanistan will end the tournament on a high after agonising last-over losses in the previous two matches.
It looked like Afghanistan were going to suffer another heartbreak as Rashid Khan bowled the final over with seven needed. Ravindra Jadeja was on strike and India had one wicket in hand. Jadeja brought the equation to one needed from two balls before holding out to midwicket as the match ended in a tie.
The star of match, however, was Mohammad Shahzad.
The Afghanistan wicketkeeper and opener considers MS Dhoni as his role model. Shahzad has even modeled his batting on that of the Indian and has even incorporated the famous helicopter shot in his arsenal.
Inspired by Dhoni
On a day when MS Dhoni returned to helm Indian team for his 200th (and perhaps last time), Shahzad played the best innings of his life. While other top order Afghan batsmen suffered, he batted with power and attitude making merry against a second-string Indian bowling attack.
His 124 is the highest individual score by a wicket-keeper in Asia Cup history. It is the first century against India by any batsman not from the first 10 Test playing teams.
His confidence was evident in the way he hit his sixes- all seven of them. His intensity was on display in the celebration after reaching the landmark century. It was much more sedate than people had come expect from him.
A character
Shahzad is not an ideal modern cricketer. He looks more like a diminutive Inzamam than a Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni. Among his tall Afghan teammates he sometimes resembles an eager child- just happy to be there.
But he is battle hardened. He belongs to the troubled province of Jalalabad. Shahzad has honed his cricketing skills playing tape-ball cricket in refugee camps on Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Standing at 5'8", there is seldom a dull moment when the stockily-built Shahzad is around, both on and off the field.
He knows he is overweight but doesn't doubt his ability one bit, so much so that he believes that he can hit bigger sixes than Kohli despite not having the exemplary fitness and skill possessed by the Indian captain.
"Jitna lamba chakka woh (Kohli) maarte hain, main unse zyadaa maar saktaa hoon, zaroorat kya hain unki tarah itna diet karne ki (I can hit bigger sixes than Kohli so why do I need to follow his diet?)," he had said before Afghanistan's first test match few months ago.
His failed attempts at weight-loss had even resulted in a one-year doping ban last year. Now, he is taking the long route- of working hard and training to remain match-fit.
More to come?
He spends a lot of time in India and claims to know top Indian cricketers well. He calls MS Dhoni his "closest friend" in the Indian team.
Shahzad, scored a 47-ball 34 in the opener against Sri Lanka, is an integral part of the Afghanistan team, having played 76 ODIs, 65 T20s and the country's only Test which they played against India in June. He has defied the odds to become Afghanistan's leading run-getter in T20s and is second only to Mohammad Nabi in ODI runs.
However, he was under pressure to justify his place after failing to get big scores in previous matches. Tuesday's innings may mark the start of a new phase for him.
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