5 Questions with Cricket World: Afghanistan can get to T20 World Cup semis, we have a great team - Hazratullah Zazai

Afghanistan opener Hazratullah Zazai, best known for hitting 6 sixes in an over in the inaugural season of the Afghanistan Premier League, talks to Cricket World about Afghanistan's prospects of qualifying for the T20 World Cup semi-final, cricket without spectators and the day he hit those 6 maximums.

When you think of Afghanistan, you think of the Rashids, the Mujeebs and the goldmine of wrist spinners. But, of late, in many of Afghanistan's memorable wins, Hazratullah Zazai has led the charge with the bat.

The powerful opener is best known for hitting six sixes in an over for Kabul Zwanan against Balkh Legends in the inaugural season of the Afghanistan Premier League in Sharjah. Apart from adding his name to the list of revered names, he equalled Yuvraj and Chris Gayle for the fastest fifty in all T20 cricket by racing to the half-century off just 12 balls.

His best international outing came early last year, when the opener smashed an unbeaten 162 off 62 balls against Ireland in a knock that included a record 16 sixes, taking Afghanistan to a world record T20 total of 278.

Here's what Hazratullah Zazai had to say as we caught up with him for our new series, 5 Questions with Cricket World:

Q: What's the first thing you'd like to do once normalcy returns?

A: The first thing I will do as a player is to meet with my close friends and will have fun with them.

Q: Your 6 sixes in an over in the APL made you very popular. Did you decide that you wanted to hit 6 sixes after the first three and what was going through your mind just after you hit the final six?

A: I didn’t decide to hit 6 sixes in an over but when I tried the 5th six, after that, I decided that I will hit six six six six six six in the over.      

Q: Do you believe Afghanistan have the ability to reach the semi-final of the upcoming T20 World Cup? 

A: Yes, I believe that we will qualify to the semi-final and we have a great team in T20Is.                                             

Q: Do you have aspirations of playing in the IPL?

A: Yes, all players have the wish to play in the IPL.    

Q: When international cricket returns, it will be played without the crowd. There must have been a time when you would have played without a lot of spectators. What's the biggest difference between playing with and without the crowd?                            

A: All games and all sports have special fans. Cricket is not cricket without fans. When we played cricket in the street, if there’s no fan, that won’t be enjoyable. That’s why, without the crowd, cricket is not actually cricket.

For more such interviews, jump to our new series: 5 Questions With Cricket World

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