Kolkata: There is something special about Hashim Amla. The bearded South African never displays his aggression and comes across as a cool guy who goes about his job without making any noise. Guess what, Amla has just scored his 50th International hundred and that came against Sri Lanka o February 10 and he ranks second behind Jacques Kallis among South Africans in terms of international tons, according to Hindustan Times. Kallis has 62 centuries at the international level. In terms of global rankings, Amla is behind the likes of Sachin Tendulkar (100), Ricky Ponting (71), Kallis (62), Mahela Jayawardene (54) and Brian Lara (53). By the way, Amla achieved this feat in 348 innings becoming the quickest batsman to enter the club.
To go back to Amla, one reiterates that he is a unique talent. One look at him and he doesn’t send alarming signals across his opposition camp, but it is the same batsman who in his own inimitable style can destroy the most lethal of attacks in all the formats of the game. What Virat Kohli, Chris Gyale and AB De Villiers display, Amla doesn’t. Yet he plays with the bowling in a way that looks deceptive.
In ODIs, he has a strike-rate of 89.44. In T20 Internationals he scores at a rate of 129.06. These figures are quite close to that of De Villiers whose strike rates in ODIs and T20 Internationals are 99.95 and 132.37 respectively. Gayle on the other hand is considered to be a monster when it comes to the shorter formats of the game. Interestingly, his strike-rate of 85.11 in ODIS is less than Amla’s. In T20 Internationals however, Gayle has a strike-rate of 145.49.
Now, why does one have to eulogise Amla? The reason is simple. This 33-year-old from Durban redefines aggression and continues to pile up huge scores in all the three formats of the game much like a Kohli and a De Villiers. Yet, he is not much talked about because he lacks glamour. And he is not a superstar of the game. But one look at his track record and one would reconcile to the fact that Amla cannot be looked beyond. Let’s not forget he has a triple century in Tests and averages 49.99 in the five-day format. In ODIs, his average is over 50 and in T20 Internationals it’s over 30.
Don’t these prove that the Durban guy is a force to reckon with? But we don’t mention him when it comes to modern-day greats. It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t quite make it to that list, yet he continues to perform silently and break records. That’s Hashim Amla for you, a silent assassin!