Khawaja Nafay scored 60 from 31 balls, which included 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Khawaja Nafay, the young Quetta Gladiators batter, has grabbed headlines with his Player of the Match performance against Lahore Qalandars in PSL 2024. Batting at a crucial No. 3 spot, he 22-year-old smashed 60 from just 31 balls which included 4 fours and 3 huge sixes. His knock earned praise from several cricket experts and they see him as Pakistan’s future.
THE AUDACITY KHAWAJA NAFAY pic.twitter.com/oa6LrwgnCS
— عثمان (@usmssss) February 19, 2024
Among all the shots that he played, his first boundary was the most exciting one and that has grabbed eyeballs of many experts following PSL. When Nafay was on 6, he smashed seasoned fast bowler Haris Rauf over deep backward square for a no-look six. It showed the youngster’s confidence and talent to hit a quality international bowler for a six.
Nafay played several breathtaking shots during his knock and took Quetta Gladiators home with 5 balls to spare. He hit the winning runs with a whip to deep fine leg off the bowling of Zaman Khan, another Pakistan international. Despite facing one of the best bowling lineups of the competition, which consisted of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Zaman Khan, Nafay looked comfortable at the crease and batted with freedom.
Young prodigy seals the deal 🤩
Khawaja Nafay, take a bow! 🫡#HBLPSL9 | #KhulKeKhel | #LQvQG pic.twitter.com/bdfsiQRiKX
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 19, 2024
Khawaja Nafay hadn’t played for any region in Pakistan before this year’s PSL. Although, he has played in Bangladesh Premier League 2023 before.
Quetta Gladiators wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed revealed how Nafay was picked for BPL 2023. “Khawaja Nafay was picked for BPL last year after his videos appeared on Facebook and despite him having not played for any region in Pakistan, it was a huge achievement. He’s a talent and if such a player gets opportunities, he can do well for Pakistan,” Sarfaraz said.
Lahore Qalandars, the defending champions, suffered their second successive loss while Quetta Gladiators have started this season with two wins in a row.