Poor man’s Mitchell Johnson?

DUBAI: Test fast bowler Wahab Riaz made a bold move on Thursday night as he turned up for the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) opening game with whiskers that reminded one of Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson.

If the idea was to attract attention then the Peshawar Zalmi fast bowler achieved his goal. He was the biggest talking point on the social media even as his team fell to debutants Multan Sultans in the opening game of PSL 3.

But all the attention came at a price. Wahab was trolled on the social media as countless fans made fun of his new facial hairdo. “That’s what you get when you order Mitchell Johnson online,” wrote one fan on Twitter with Wahab’s photograph on his post. “Ghareebon ka (poor man’s) Mitchell Johnson,” wrote another.

His own captain Mohammad Hafeez wasn’t sure whether Wahab looked ok. Hafeez uploaded a selfie with Wahab ahead of the first game and wrote, “Ready to go for the opening ceremony & our 1st game of PSL#3, not sure about @WahabViki new look.”

Wahab, however, stressed that with his new look he was looking to give some inspirational performances for Zalmi, the defending champions.“I wish I can properly perform once again, in this PSL series, what I am known for — my character [role] as a fast bowler,” he said.

“I hope it keeps reminding me of who I am, what I have to do in this tournament and how I have to perform,” he added.Wahab admitted that he took inspiration from Johnson. “See, it’s good to be inspired by anyone for anything that benefits you and if I’m inspired by Mitchell, then I’d love to say thank you to him.”