All-round Ali Sheikh braces for life in the big league

On the night of MLC's first ever domestic player draft Ali Sheikh, 20, was modestly confident of his chances of being drafted in by a franchise, especially with the league designating the ninth and the final pick as the U23 category. After all, he had just been crowned the MVP of the selection tournament held just before the draft. Sheikh's all-round ability as a cricketer made him stand tall in a tournament with a majority of players having first class cricket experience behind them.

An ice-cool 49 in trying conditions and a haul of 8 wickets spread across 3 games was enough for the Los Angeles Knight Riders to lock him in as their sixth pick. Testament to his promise as a cricketer, Knight Riders drafted in Sheikh ahead of experienced campaigners like Shadley Van Schalkwyk (97 FC games in South Africa) and Saif Badar (21 FC games in Pakistan). Sheikh ended up being the only player under-23 to be drafted in the senior category.

"During the draft in the sixth round, I was just talking to the people next to me at that point. I wasn't really paying attention and then I heard my name. It didn't sink in then. I think after I got my cap, and sat down, it really started to sink in. It was just a great feeling," reminisced Sheikh.

The LA Knight Riders aren't the only ones hopeful about Sheikh. Former New South Wales and Kings XI Punjab fast bowler, Burt Cockley, now a physical performance coach with MLC, tips Sheikh to be a surprise package during the tournament.

"He's a bit of an impact player, how he goes about his business and how he throws himself around and how he approaches the sport is just at a really high level. He's a power hitter. He's shown glimpses of it in the minor league. He's a stroke player. And it's exciting to see," said Cockley.

An accumulator before, Sheikh discovered another side to his batting in the summer of 2020. At the age of 17, he clubbed six sixes in an over in a club game in Dallas. Blessed with an unhindered bat swing from an early age, his adolescent masculinity helped him open a brand-new power hitting dimension. That put his cricket in the fast lane. He broke into the Dallas minor league team in the same season.

Sheikh was thrown into the wild from the very beginning of his adult cricket career. He was asked to play the role of a finisher and bowl the difficult overs in T20 cricket. This baptism by fire, only accelerated his growth as a cricketer. His street smarts with the ball, electric fielding and his hitting prowess were noticed as he became the most sought-after young cricketer in T20 tournaments nationwide.

"I feel like batting during those crunch moments has definitely increased my knowledge and cricketing sense. I feel like before I used to rush into my batting and just swing from ball one, but now I know that there's a lot of time I can take my time and build my innings. I feel like playing in these tournaments and batting in various positions has given me the confidence to take the game deeper. I trust my skill and back myself to hit any ball and any bowler," said Sheikh.

"Whether bowling or batting, pressure situations do bring the best out of me. Because I can calculate better on what's required from me. So if I'm bowling, a really important over, I know that I don't need to take a wicket here, I just need to contain. And if I can contain, then the wickets will come. Or if I'm batting, then if I take it to the last over, and if we need like 18 or 20 I feel like we can still get it. So I feel like being in pressure situations, it helps me calculate better. And it makes me think less of the negative and like helps me stay in the present"

It is this quirk and an extension of his personality to take ownership and control of the game that made him the natural choice to lead the USA U19s. Sheikh takes the liberty to exude this extreme confidence in his abilities on the back of hours of training he has subjected himself to. He hits an average 1500 balls every week broken down into 30 minutes of high intensity power hitting sessions.

It is a widespread belief in US cricketing circles that Sheikh is naturally talented. However, his real success lies in adding something new to his game every season. Sheikh had a major epiphany in life after his USA call up during the Covid-hit series against Ireland. He discovered first hand the big gulf in skill and consistency between him and the rest of the Irish players.

"I was watching the Irish team practice. I saw that the guys that were spot bowling would set a cone, and they would hit it like at least three out of 10 times. And when I practice, I hit the cone like maybe once in 30 balls. So that really made me think that if they can hit it 30% of the time and I'm only hitting it one out of 30 then a lot of improvement is needed. In batting as well, I would see them batting with the sidearm facing 135-140 kmph with ease, driving, pulling and everything. So, I thought, this is the time to practice and change my game if I really want to do this," said Sheikh.

It is this work ethic and constant urge of getting better that has caught Cockley's attention. Much like the rest of the American players, Sheikh grew up batting on hard Astroturf wickets. Historically USA cricketers have found the transition to turf wickets a sort of a tribulation but Sheikh has burned the midnight oil to acclimatize himself to this change, deciphering the shots to play and avoid while making the switch from Astroturf to turf wickets.

According to Cockley, being a multisport kid, Sheikh has given himself himself the best chance to succeed.

"He'll play basketball, every night for hours on end, and get home at 11pm, and then get up and come to the gym the next day with me. So him playing sport, it's just fun. It's not a task for him to go and do those things whereas for a lot of other athletes, it's a hard task, a mental challenge for them to overcome that step to get out the door.

"But Ali is physically active all the time. And the by-product of that. He's developed this unique athleticism. He is also super competitive. Those two things combined, it's a really powerful thing."