Kashif Bhatti

As a teenager, Kashif Bhatti used to play tape ball cricket in Nawabshah with his brother who used to play Club cricket. The latter saw Kashif's talent and backed him unconditionally. A bowling all-rounder by design, it was his left-arm spin that was the primary skill while his utility as a powerhitting batsman couldn't be ignored either. Two First-class tons is a testimony to his batting abitilies. Kashif swiftly climbed up the ranks, making it to the District U19 team and also progressing to the Regional Academy in Hyderabad. Since his First-class debut in 2007, he soon became one of the top performers in the domestic circuit across all three formats with over 500 wickets and more than 3500 runs under his belt. As a part of the selection and cultural overhaul in Pakistan cricket, several fresh faces were named for the tour of Australia in late 2019, with Kashif also being named for the trip. He had reasonable amount of exposure in the PSL where he has represented the Multan Sultans.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan