Meet Hong Kong, China Players for Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2024: Nizakat Khan to Ehsan Khan

The Hong Kong Sixes tournament will start on November 1, with the season running for three days in Mong Kok. As many as 12 teams will participate in the competition, with several sides announcing their squads.

Among them are the hosts Hong Kong China, who have named their seven players taking part in this six-hitting carnival. They have a strong squad, capable of competing hard against quality sides with big names.

We extract more information about each player and talk about them in detail.

Also Read: Every squad for Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2024: All squads for latest edition of HKG Sixes 2024

Nizakat Khan

Among the most experienced players in the country, Nizakat Khan is a regular captain of the side and will continue leading Hong Kong in the tournament. He has led Hong Kong in 56 matches in both formats combined.

Overall, he has played 20 ODIs and 99 T20Is for Hong Kong, scoring 2728 runs at an average of 24.80, including 13 fifties across both formats. He is also Hong Kong’s all-time leading run-scorer in T20Is, with 2053 runs at an average of 22.81 and a strike rate of 123 in 96 T20I innings, with the help of ten fifties, the joint-most for his team in this format.

Sahal Malvernkar

Sahal Malvernkar is a fairly new name, for he hasn’t played any cricket at this level. He has yet to debut in T20s, List A or First Class cricket but has been playing in local leagues.

Recently, he featured in the Hong Kong All Stars 50-Over Series, where he played a fighting 84-run knock in 98 deliveries, including eight boundaries and two maximums, in a losing cause. He has also played a few other good innings suggesting there’s massive potential and can surprise one and all in the tournament.

Imran Arif

Imran Arif is a Pakistani player who has played a bit of domestic cricket across formats but has never played any international cricket. He has 17 First Class, 13 List A, and 13 T20 matches, having made his debut back in 2008.

While his T20 record isn’t great with the bat or ball, he has played a bit for Worcestershire. Imran will look to bring his experience to the unit.

Jason Lui

A wicketkeeper batter born in the USA, Jason Lui will be one of the wicketkeeper batters in the Hong Kong side. Lui has played only a solitary T20I, coming against China in Mong Kok earlier in the year.

Recently, he played in the Hong Kong All Stars 50-Over Series and Hong Kong Men’s T20I Series and did reasonably well. It remains to be seen whether he can replicate a bit of success against quality teams in the tournament.

Zeeshan Ali

Another wicketkeeper batter and one of the most experienced players in the side, Zishan Ali is likely to start ahead of Jason Lui from the first game. He has played 44 T20I games for Hong Kong, scoring 695 runs at an average of 28.95 and a strike rate of 139.55, including four fifties.

Further, he has featured in 25 First Class and 18 List A games, averaging 17.95 and 19.62, respectively. He is a naturally aggressive player who likes to score quickly and would enjoy playing in a tournament that precisely asks for this.

Also Read: Meet India Players for Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2024: Robin Uthappa to Kedar Jadhav

Benny Paras

Benny Paras is another pretty much unknown commodity in Hong Kong’s squad. Benny has not played any First Class, List A, or T20 cricket but has played a few local tournaments.

He last played in the Hong Kong Premier League T20 Tournament, where he bowled well. His last five figures read: 2/34, 0/42, 1/22, 0/21 & 2/47.

Ehsan Khan

A massively experienced off-spinner, Ehsan Khan has played 93 matches across ODIs and T20Is for Hong Kong. In ODIs, he has 29 wickets at 20.48 runs apiece in 15 games, and in T20Is, Ehsan has 114 wickets at a 15 average in 78 outings, including five four-wicket hauls.

In his most recent fixture in the Emerging Asia Cup, he took three wickets and has three three-fers in the last five matches. His experience playing ample T20 cricket will be handy in a side with several inexperienced and new players, and Ehsan must lead from the front in the bowling department.

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