WATCH: First glimpse at Pakistan’s Lasith Malinga clone – 20-year-old Zaman Khan
It seems like Pakistan now have their own version of Lasith Malinga in youngster Zaman Khan, who has been impressing everyone with his slinging action and express pace. The 20-year-old fast bowler’s action seems to be a combination of Lasith Malinga and Shoaib Akhtar, which is quite unorthodox and allows the pacer to generate extra pace with his strides.
In the opening game of this season’s National T20 Cup between Balochistan and Northern Punjab, Zaman Khan made a stellar impression and was featured in the tweet made by Pakistan Cricket Board’s official handle. Zaman Khan represents Northern Punjab in the domestic tournaments and despite bowling just 2 overs in the game, he made an impression on the fans. He picked up one wicket of Bismillah Khan.
The world of cricket has witnessed many bowlers with such slinging actions, but not many have managed to survive at the top level for a long time. Zaman Khan’s long run-up and perfect body positioning during the release have caught major attention. Some other bowlers in recent times went viral for having a similar roundarm action, most notable one being teenager Matheesha Pathirana from Sri Lanka, who had made news for having a very similar action.
However, Zaman Khan is now representing a recognized T20 side and aims to go higher in the coming years. Here’s a look at Zaman Khan’s wicket-taking delivery where his unorthodox action can be witnessed in full flow.
Zaman Khan – the star of recently concluded Kashmir Premier League
The young right-arm pacer born in Mirpur, was one of the finds of the Kashmir Premier League’s inaugural season. He managed to pick up 8 wickets while representing the Rawalakot Hawks in just three games, which includes figures of 2-28, 3-27 and 3-18. He was awarded the Player of the Match award after he posted impressive bowling figures of 3/18 from his four overs against Bagh Stallions.
He played under the captaincy of former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi in the KPL and the young bowler was full of praises for their talismanic veteran, who announced retirement from all formats in February 2017.