Hong Kong eager to play good cricket and learn: Yasim

RAWALPINDI: The Asia Cup, this year being played as a T20 tournament, is all about the big boys.

The highlight of the tournament, without a doubt, are the clashes between arch-rivals Pakistan and India – both fancied to fight for the crown. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, however, will look to spring a surprise.

Hong Kong complete the roaster after topping the preceding four-team Asia Cup qualifying tournament – winning all of their games against Singapore, Kuwait and the UAE in Oman. They are bracketed with Pakistan and India in Group A.

The Hong Kong team includes a number of players from the subcontinent and one of them is Yasim Murtaza.

The left-handed opening batsman doubles up as a left-arm orthodox spinner to be one of the key players for Hong Kong. Yasim had a good Asia Cup qualifying tournament with scores of 26, 46 and 58. He also took three wickets in the three games with best figures of 2-11 against Kuwait.

The 31-year-old Yasim was happy with his performance in the qualifiers.

“We are happy to have qualified for the Asia Cup,” he said while talking to ‘The News’ from Dubai before heading for a practice session.

“The entire Hong Kong team is eager to play good cricket and learn from this experience.”

Speaking of his team’s chances in the tournament, Yasim said: “Cricket is a funny game, especially T20. Two good overs can change the complexion of the game. And we have the players such as Babar Hayat who can change the game in two overs.”

Yasim also talked about his cricket journey. Born in Sialkot, the 31-year-old all-rounder shifted to Rawalpindi in 1999 to play cricket. He joined the Bajwa Cricket Club, where Asif Bajwa -- the founder of the club and academy -- took him under his wings.

“Asif Bajwa sb is like a father figure to me. He took care of me from 1999 to 2014; he worked on my cricket skills and also supported me financially. I owe a lot to him.”

The southpaw started playing Under-19 cricket for Rawalpindi in 2003 and also captained the side. He also led the national U19 team against West Indies in 2006 and made his first class debut for Rawalpindi the same year.

Yasim played 74 matches for Rawalpindi, PTV and United Bank Limited in a first class career spanning 10 years (2006-2015) and also regularly featured in league cricket in England.

In 2015, while representing United Bank, Yasim suffered a fracture in his leg and had to miss cricket for a year.

“The hotel in which the team was staying in Karachi caught fire. To save myself, I jumped off the second floor and fractured my leg. It took almost a year for the injury to heal.”

So how did he end up playing for Hong Kong?

“In 2017, I got a call from Tanvir Afzal, who is a friend and also a former first cricketer from Rawalpindi. He offered me to come to Hong Kong and told me that I can get a chance to play One-Day and T20 International cricket. So, I decided to avail the opportunity,” Yasim said.