Inspired by Chevron's T20 captain, Sikandar Raza, upcoming cricketer, Aliakbar Hamid is leaving no stone unturned in his quest to pave his own cricket story and become the next Zimbabwe international star.
Born to a cricket family, Ali-Akbar is the son of former Zimbabwe A and liaison officer for a number of Asian teams that visit Zimbabwe, Abid Hamid.
With his father having been involved on the administration side of the game at national level while his brother, Saad Hamid has played club cricket, Ali-Akbar seeks to write his own history by becoming the first member of his family to represent Zimbabwe at international level.
The 24-year-old batter is now one step away from achieving his dream of representing the Zimbabwe national team after he made his debut for the Zimbabwe A in February.
“Playing Zimbabwe A was amazing, the feeling of being able to represent your country is something you love doing and it feels great.
“My target is to play for Zimbabwe and if all goes well I would love to play for Zimbabwe and not only just play but win games for my country, it’s a childhood dream and I will do everything in my ability to give myself the best chance to represent my country,” said the 24-year old batter.
After spending three seasons playing in the local National Premier League (NPL) for Takashinga 2, Ali-Akbar announced his arrival on the franchise system with a fine performance in the 2023-24 season.
He featured for Tuskers during the 2023-24 season.
“My targets were to do well and score a lot of runs since I was coming from a strong NPL season for the last three years and all I wanted was to do well at a higher level and score hundreds.
“I would have been satisfied with three hundreds (centuries) if you asked me at the beginning of the season (Franchise Season) but I feel like I could have gotten more runs and bigger hundreds so my goal is just to do better this coming season,” said Aliakbar.
In his bid to achieve his childhood dream, the 24-year-old has utilised the Zimbabwe Cricket break and joined Taunton Deane and Somerset Stragglers in Somerset to hone his skills.
“I came to the UK to give myself the best chance to get used to these conditions and I did not come here for any other reason but to develop my game in different conditions and I am going to do just that.
“I also want to bowl a lot more so it’s helping me become a leader and a good all-rounder, hopefully for my future for Zimbabwe cricket and Tuskers.
“I want to play cricket for Zimbabwe at the highest stage and I need to be able to play in different wickets and conditions in order for me to better my game, hopefully I give myself the best chance to play for Zimbabwe in the upcoming near future,” said Aliakbar.
As he keeps his eyes on the ball and seeking to achieve his Chevron’s dream, Aliakbar revealed how Raza, Faraz Akram and former national team coach, Steve Mangongo have been pushing him towards his cause.
“I am very lucky to have Faraz bhai and Raza bhai. They are always motivating and always pushing me to do well and also Mr Mangongo and the high performance coaches are very helpful,” said Aliakbar.