Anwar Ali

Pakistan’s speedster, Anwar Ali, is another talent that got nurtured by Aaqib Javed. Ali’s secret sauce, to swing both new and old balls, makes him a potent force. The seamer first announced himself during the 2006 under-19 World Cup where he stunned the Indians with a five-wicket haul. However, it took Ali a while to graduate to the highest level. 

He comes from a very humble background and was well-supported by Aaqib Javel, during his hard odd days. After donning Pakistan’s jersey during the 2006 event, the seamer made his first-class debut in the 2007 season of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy where he bagged an impressive 23 wickets at 29.43 with the best of 6 for 54. After his maiden first-class season, Ali was named in the training squad for the ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2008. And later, he toured Zimbabwe and Kenya with the Academy team to scalp 29 wickets, which earned Ali his maiden T20I debut cap. 

The talented pacer made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in the T20 Canada series, but he didn’t get the chance to don the Pakistani jersey, until 2013. Ali was forced to get back to domestic cricket where he sharpened his skills with both bat and ball to earn the tag of a bowling all-rounder. He returned to the international arena in 2013 as was called in for the T20I series against Zimbabwe. Later that year, he toured South Africa to make his ODI debut. 

He played some useful hand for Pakistan in both white-ball formats.

 In 2015, in a T20I clash against Sri Lanka, the all-rounder scored a stunning 17-ball 46 to power Pakistan total in a thrilling one-wicket win, which brought Ali in Shahid Afridi’s awe. But, the allrounder couldn’t cement his place and got dropped off the team in 2016. 

The all-rounder has been a sizzling commodity for the franchises across the globe. Pakistan’s speedster plays for Dambulla Viiking in LPL, while his loyalty for Quetta Gladiators in PSL is second to none. 

(As of June 2021)