Speaking with PakPassion.net, Haris Sohail credited his Sialkot captain Shoaib Malik for his recent success and stated that Malik’s guidance and belief in him were key to his good form. He also spoke about his personal form and his aspirations to represent Pakistan at the highest level.

By Saj Sadiq (April 12th, 2012)

The twenty over domestic tournaments in Pakistan have a habit of unearthing young talent and the recently concluded Super 8s competition in Rawalpindi was no different. Teenage left arm pace bowler Zia ul Haq caught the eye with his pace and ability to swing the ball for the Lahore Lions and must have impressed the coaches and selectors present in Rawalpindi.

Amongst the batting talent on show, none impressed more than Sialkot’s left handed batsman Haris Sohail who scored a total of 173 runs in four innings in the Super 8s without being dismissed.

Speaking with PakPassion.net, Haris credited his Sialkot captain Shoaib Malik for his recent success and stated that Malik’s guidance and belief in him were key to his good form.

“I went into the Super 8s tournament knowing that I was part of a very strong Sialkot Stallions squad and the truth is I was unsure whether I would even make the starting line up. I sat out the first match and then waited to see if my opportunity would arrive.”

“Thankfully when my opportunity came in Sialkot’s second match of the tournament against the Karachi Dophins I made 43 not out. I owe a debt of gratitude to Shoaib (Malik) for giving me the opportunity and having faith in my ability. It’s always good to make a solid start in a tournament and that first innings against Karachi gave me a lot of confidence and set me up nicely for the rest of the competition. I’m just really pleased that things went well for me in the Super 8s and was very happy with my form during that tournament. It was a high profile tournament and all the players wanted to do well.”

The highly rated 23 year old has an impressive average of over 46 in first class cricket and was selected for the Pakistan Cricket Board XI against England in the UAE earlier this year. Whilst still relatively inexperienced he feels that being part of an experienced and talented squad like Sialkot in Rawalpindi was a huge confidence boost for him.

“Team unity was the key for Sialkot. There was one goal, one aim for all of us. The players who did not get a chance still supported the greater cause and that was for the team’s success. There was a lot of competition for places and we all wanted to be in the starting eleven, but the backing from the whole squad was excellent. It was a great experience for me to be part of such a strong squad and it can only help in my development as a cricketer.”

After Sohail’s superb performances in the Super 8s and his consistent performances for Punjab and ZTBL in the previous domestic season, he is already being spoken of by many as being ready for a promotion to the senior Pakistan side, but Sohail is ready to bide his time and leave it to the selectors to decide when he is ready for international cricket.

“As a professional cricketer my hope and burning ambition is to play for my country. My job is to play cricket and to score runs and the selector’s job is to select the team. Whenever I get a chance to play for Pakistan, I will give my all and try and do my best. In the meantime I will just try to score runs, to learn and to develop my cricketing skills.

Haris also confirmed that he had been lined up to play league cricket in the North West of England, but that may be put on hold for now due to the possibility of a training camp commencing soon in Lahore.

“I’ve heard there may be a training camp in Lahore and that I may be needed for that. I will find out soon from the Board regarding their plans for me, so once I have received confirmation from the Board regarding the training camp, I will then decide upon when I am coming to England to play league cricket.”

Sohail’s greatest strength in the Super 8s appeared to be that he had a lot of time to play each ball on merit, a skill that seemed to come naturally to him. He confirmed that his batting is based on a simple approach rather than trying to overcomplicate things.

“Whether it’s 20 over, 50 over or Test cricket, the basics of batting remain the same to me and my philosophy doesn’t change. Mine is a simple approach and not an approach where I try to overcomplicate my batting.”

“Twenty over cricket is not just about fours and sixes, you can still play orthodox cricket shots and be successful. You can play shots along the ground and still make a challenging total of 160 to 170 quite easily. I’ve been taught to not overcomplicate things at the crease and keep it simple and that is how I intend to play in future.”

Given the perennial dearth of quality batting talent in the country and with a few international series against some serious opposition in the shape of Sri Lanka and Australia as well as a tentative one against Bangladesh scheduled for this year, the inclusion of Haris Sohail in the national squad remains a distinct possibility and should surprise no one.