Picture by Francois Nel/Getty Images. Hassan Ali is bringing his trademark celebration to Yorkshire.
Hassan Ali is bringing his trademark fire and brimstone approach to cricket to Headingley for this summer’s Vitality Blast, a place he has performed at before.
The all-action Pakistan fast bowler, who also hits a long ball down the order, is well known for a wicket celebration which he says indicates a bomb going off for the batter, “You know, he’s gone,” he once said.
Yorkshire will represent Ali’s third county stint after playing for Lancashire and then Warwickshire between 2022 and 2025. He has only played for the Bears in the Blast.
Last June, he played against Yorkshire for Warwickshire at Headingley, a game the visitors won by 32 runs on the back of posting a 205-8 total.
He crashed 22 not out off eight balls, including two sixes, to give the total a late boost before taking the new ball and returning 2-32 from four overs.
The right-armer was amongst the top five leading wicket-takers in the competition last summer with 25 from 12 matches, including a remarkable career best 6-23 in a win over Derbyshire at Edgbaston.
That performance, which included a hat-trick, came less than a week before the aforementioned Headingley contribution.
Picture by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images. Hassan Ali celebrates with the Champions Trophy at the Oval in 2017.
The 31-year-old has played 150 times across all formats for Pakistan since in ODI cricket in August 2016. He has taken 254 wickets for his country, including five-fors across all formats.
He was the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 13 from five matches when Pakistan won the Champions Trophy in England in mid-summer 2017. He was named player-of-the-tournament.
A bustling fast bowler with loads of skill, he is ideally suited to T20 cricket, especially with his infectious love for the game of cricket.
He is currently playing for the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League, alongside another of Yorkshire’s new signings Moeen Ali.
Hassan is effective with both the new ball and at the death.
At time of writing, he sits on 336 wickets in 233 career appearances in T20 cricket. With them well placed to reach the knockouts, he could well have passed the 350-mark by the time he arrives at Headingley next month.
Fingers crossed whilst wearing the White Rose, he can also reach 250 appearances.
Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images. Hassan Ali celebrates dismissing Sir Alastair Cook for England against Pakistan at Headingley in 2018.
While it is a disappointment that injured Afghanistani Naveen-ul-Haq has had to pull out of his deal because of an ongoing shoulder problem, Ali will hopefully prove to be an excellent addition given his skill and experience.
The younger bowlers in the squad will all no doubt be able to learn from him.
Ali will also be available for the June Rothesay County Championship matches against his former county Warwickshire at Scarborough and Leicestershire at Grace Road should he be required.
He has taken 330 wickets in 88 first-class matches, including 80 in 25 Tests.
Welcome to Yorkshire, Hassan.
We’ll just forget that you played for Lancashire, hey!
