Azhar Ali: The new Asim Kamal?

I remember Geoff Boycott talking about Asim Kamal way back in 2006 in a post match analysis, after the Pakistani batsmen threw away their wickets with reckless shots: "I haven't seen the lad, but I've just seen the record you just showed, and I see that he's scored so many fifties but no hundreds, and in Test matches you need guys who can score big hundreds...So I wouldn't pick him in my playing XI" However, Rameez Raja and Sanjay Manjreker laughed off his comments and said consistency such as Asim Kamal had showed was hard to find among young batsmen in the sub-continent.

In a short career between 2003/04 - 2005/06 spanning 12 Test matches, Asim Kamal scored 717 runs with 8 fifties, 4 of them against India, at an average of 37.37. Three of those scores were in the nineties, the first one on his debut against South Africa when he fell 1 run short of a century. His consistency and temperament notwithstanding, our notorious selectors found an Achilles Heel in his fielding. The closest he ever came to play again was in the 2007-08 Test series against SA, when he was called into the squad only to warm the bench.

Fast forward to 2011, and you will find a lot of new names in the Pakistani middle order. Among the very few players who have a cemented place in the Test side is Azhar Ali. Whenever I watch him bat, he reminds me of Asim Kamal. Here's why.

Asim Kamal vs Azhar Ali (Stats as on June 2, 2011)

Both debuted in their mid-twenties, Azhar was 26, Kamal 27. The biggest similarity in their batting method is digging in, especially at the start of their innings.Both are known for their obduracy at the crease. In an era when most batsmen like to score quickly, Azhar Ali once took nearly sixty balls to score his first run in a first class match. His conservative shot making shows in his low strike rate, just like Asim Kamal's.

Both batsmen had their chances to score hundreds, and like Asim, in his first 12 Tests, Azhar Ali has failed to convert his two 90+ scores, one of them a not out 92 against against England. Lets hope Azhar Ali does not wither away like Asim Kamal and gets the milestone that the latter so richly deserved.