Can Anwar Ali make a career transformation?

Many a people argue that T20s is not cricket. It’s a completely different sport. I see merit in that argument. The premium of runs is much higher than the cost of wicket. So, batsmen who can score quickly are perhaps better than those who bat longer but at a lower strike rate. As the West Indian cricket team showed, the value of ones and twos in T20 is greatly over stated. If you can have a powerful batting line up, it would beat a more so called efficient batting line up. So, in T20 sides batsmen who can hit sixes are paid the big bucks.

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Now, recall Anwar Ali’s recent performances. That 40 odd of 17 against Sri Lanka to pull off the impossible. That almost pull off performance against Zalmi in PSL 3. For those who watch Ramzan cricket in Karachi, quite a few innings are of substance. Think of bowling moments? Cant’ think of much, can you?

Cast your mind back to the T10 tournament. Sarfaraz in frustration yelled to Ali, ‘kya faida itn practise krney ka?’ May be with his change of action, Anwar Ali is no longer a bowling all rounder. He hasn’t been for a while. Perhaps it is time to focus on batting and being the basher, he clearly has the ability to be. 2 overs at 8 or 9 runs per over and the occasional hit is much less valuable than a regular 25 of 10. That is the way cricket is going.

In PSL 3, Anwar Ali scored 66 runs at the strike rate of 137. If given a larger role in batting, perhaps even in the middle overs when spinners are on, he could cause more damage. Nadeem Omer, (owner of Quetta Gladiators) and Sarfaraz have great faith in Anwar Ali. If anyone can help the man through this transformation its them two.