"Back to his natural position now, he has delivered" - Zaheer Khan on Haseeb Hameed playing as an opener

Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan feels Haseeb Hameed has benefitted from opening the innings in the third England-India Test at Headingley. The England opener looked fluid during his 68-run knock, which included 12 boundaries.

In the Lord's Test, Haseeb batted at no.3 and was bowled for a golden duck off an incoming delivery from Mohammed Siraj. He looked uncomfortable in the second innings as well, facing some fiery overs from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami before finally getting out to Ishant Sharma for 9.

But Haseeb Hameed looked at his fluid best while playing as an opener in the third Test. Zaheer Khan was also left impressed with the 24-year-old's knock and told Cricbuzz:

"In the Lord's Test, it was tough for him to accommodate himself at no. 3 and make it work. But back to his natural position now, he has delivered."

How good was #HaseebHameed on his return to top of the order? 🤔 Did the English openers set up a platform for #JoeRoot & #DawidMalan?@ImZaheer answers, only on #CricbuzzChatter#ENGvIND #TeamIndia #Root pic.twitter.com/vbfd9u2nSe

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 26, 2021

Termed "Baby Boycott" by his teammates when he made his Test debut against India in 2016, Hameed was seen as the future of England cricket. He was the first Lancastrian to make it to the England side as an opener since former skipper Michael Atherton.

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Haseeb Hameed's game is backfoot-centric - Zaheer Khan

A good ball brings to an end a very encouraging innings.Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/UakxjzUrcE🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/SQgr982lkU

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 26, 2021

Zaheer Khan feels the secret behind Haseeb Hameed's success in English conditions is the batsman's dominant backfoot game.

The former Indian pacer reiterated that Hameed can use his backfoot-centric game to milk the pacers around the field by using the pace of the deliveries. Zaheer added:

"Hameed's game is backfoot-centric, he used the pace of the bowlers very well to guide the ball towards the square of the wicket to accumulate most of his runs."

Haseeb Hameed shared a 135-run opening stand with Rory Burns (61) to put England in a commanding position in the Headingley Test. After bowling out India for just 78 runs, the hosts are currently at 423/8, leading by 345 runs with three full days of play remaining.

Stumps on day two! Joe Root's century has put England in the driver's seat 💪#WTC23 | #ENGvIND | https://t.co/qmnhRc14r1 pic.twitter.com/asACkegYar

— ICC (@ICC) August 26, 2021