MANCHESTER: Back when England toured India in the winter of 2016, one photo from the dressing room went viral on Twitter (now X). Haseeb Hameed, little finger on the left hand in a cast after breaking it during the third Test at Mohali, had met Virat Kohli. One particular caption, tongue firmly in cheek, had said 'world's greatest batsman with Kohli'. Hameed, nicknamed 'Baby Boycs' had already impressed with his technique. In England's second innings of the third Test, Hameed, with a fracture, fought through the pain to compile a gutsy, unbeaten 156-ball 59.
His valour was what had earned a trip from the Indian captain. Nine years later, Hameed, now a veteran, revealed that the bond he had formed with Kohli has remained. The 28-year-old 10-Test English opener was intimate about the unlikely relationship — he has Kohli on speed dial — he has had with the former Indian captain.
"Actually, within the cricketing circle, Virat's been super helpful," the Lancashire-born cricketer said when asked about the people he turns to in times of advice. "Every time I've had any sort of query or question about batting, he's been more than willing to give his time. It's not just a short period of time. He's happy to go as long as we need. I've got a lot of respect for him. In terms of what he's done for me as a person, as a player, even through my difficult moments, I think it speaks a lot about him as a character and his kind of humility and the way he goes about things."
Kohli shared his number with Haseeb after that meeting. "Virat, in that first tour, playing against him, I was lucky enough to speak to him at the end of my tour. When I had my injury, he was kind enough to spare me a few moments. He shared his number with me and said, 'If ever you want to reach out, please feel free to do so.' But no, I mean, again, that just speaks of what an incredible person. He's probably the biggest superstar in the game, maybe even ever, if you look at his kind of social media following. So for him to be so willing to kind of give his time and personal space to someone, he didn't need to do that. I was a young kid, 19-year-old. Yeah, like he didn't need to do that. But the fact that he was so willing and able to do that was, yeah, speaks testament of him as a character."
Apart from Kohli, Hashim Amla, former South Africa player, also lends advice whenever Haseeb needs it. "Yeah, Hashim is another one, actually. He's been really helpful as well. A couple of guys that I just love talking about batting to because they're both obviously incredible players, but also understand the game too."
Hameed, who moved to Notts from Lancashire in 2020, is yet to play for England under the current regime but he's doing his bit, at least in terms of run-scoring. In 2024, he was the fourth highest with 1091 at an average of 51.9. In the ongoing edition in the County Championship's top-tier, he's second with 848 at an average of 70.6, apart from a slight uptick in strike rate (61.2 compared to 53.2).
"Hopefully, obviously the selection part of it is not in our hands," Hameed, whose family has roots in Gujarat, said. "Ultimately, you know, I've got a job to do when I play for Nottinghamshire. Obviously, I'm captain as well. So when I'm at Notts, I'm fully immersed in trying to do the best I can for the team and contribute and know that, you know, those England ambitions, which are always there and always will be there, will be looked after hopefully by me putting in performances for Nottinghamshire. So yeah, the fact that I've been able to do that in the last couple of years is pleasing.
Haseeb attributed his and England's approach for their downfall during the Ashes 2021-22 and admitted there has been a big cultural change ever since. But he affirmed he made the changes in his batting style and approach even before the Bazball era. "I was asked the other day whether I had made changes as a result of the current leadership. I can honestly say I made changes before Stokesy took over as captain and McCullum came in as coach. After that Australia tour, one of the learnings for me was finding a way to put pressure on the best bowlers in the world. Because they don't miss and you have to try and make them miss. I certainly started making changes to my game from then. I guess it coincided with this new leadership in the England team. I guess the one thing that looks really strong about the current leadership is they back players. So the players that they tend to select, they're then happy to give them quite a long run at it. I think as a player that's a really good place to be. As a player you just want someone that's going to back you through good times and bad times."
He opined he was decent with the willow before that horrific Australia tour and the current regime of backing players should be the case to make sure they get enough opportunities. "I guess in my case, at the moment, I feel like I've had one really bad, tough tour in international cricket in Australia, in the Ashes. So, it's magnified. But the six Test matches in the lead up to that, I felt like went okay, both against India at home and away. So in kind of challenging conditions and challenging circumstances. But yeah, one bad tour and I guess what this current leadership has shown is this current regime kind of select players even though they might have had a bad tour. And sometimes you see the results of that."
Just like Karun Nair, who made an unbeaten 300 in his debut Test series, Haseeb had a memorable debut only to go out of favour a few years ago. With Nair making his comeback to the Test side with his remarkable run in the domestic cricket, Haseeb said it's an inspiring journey for anyone and he also hopes he returns to the national fold with his performance in the County Championship.
