Former Worcestershire batter Azhar Ali is more than confident Pakistan International Khurram Shahzad will bring his best to Visit Worcestershire New Road, after playing an important role in his signing.
Ali, who enjoyed a memorable time at Worcestershire across two seasons in 2022 and 2023, now occupies a role as the Head of Youth Development for the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Adorning himself to the Worcestershire faithful during his time with the Pears, fans will be delighted to learn that new signing Shahzad, has had the seal of approval from their former batter.
Perhaps more interestingly however, was Ali’s involvement with the signing, playing a key part in discussions with Shahzad as talks progressed.
“I think because of the good relationship between the club and myself and the fact I really enjoyed couple of years and made a lot of good friends, I wanted to help out where I could.
“Worcestershire is a very close knit club, where everyone is very close to each other. It’s kind of family orientated, so you really stay in touch. I made a lot of good friends, as you know, with the support staff also. Our relationship was more than just cricket, is was a great two years and we still touch base with each other.
“So some of the management asked me about how Khurram would be in these conditions, and how he is as a person, so I just conveyed what I know about Khurram.
“Obviously he’s done well in Test cricket where he’s been quite consistent, especially in English these conditions, I believe that he will be a great asset.
“He’ll do really well for the club, he’s a very good person so he will fit in in the team culture really well and I think that’s very important”