Haider Ali was born in small village of Azmat Shah in Lahore
He made his debut for UAE in 2025
He has won an ILT20 title with Dubai Capitals in 2024-25
Haider Ali was born in a small village of Azmat Shah in Lahore, Pakistan. Despite being born in a lower-middle-class family, it didn't stop him from dreaming big and giving it all to achieve his dreams.
Haider was desperate to play for Pakistan and even relocated to the city of Lahore from his village as a first step towards making his dream a reality. However, it wasn't easy to survive in such a big city on his own; he took up multiple odd jobs, including that of a part-time waiter, along with his cricket practice.
His personal life wasn't smooth sailing, as he was adopted by his uncle after the separation of his parents. He made it into Pakistan's domestic cricket as a leg-spinner in 2018. When it looked like he was getting closer to his dream of getting a Pakistan cap, a major setback awaited him, and his dream of representing his country ended there.
Though Haider remains tight lipped about his abrupt end to ambitions of playing for Pakistan. "I performed well in the domestic circuit in Pakistan but don't want to mention what happened. That's life, it happens, and I'm a positive person," he said in an interview to ESPN CricInfo.
Relocating To UAE Turned Haider's Career Upside Down
Despite his Pakistan cap aspirations being thwarted, he remained in Lahore and even sold fruits to earn a living. Though the COVID pandemic turned out to be the tipping point in his life, after which he decided to relocate to the UAE in 2022 for a better future.
Even after moving to a new country, the dream of becoming a professional cricketer remained alive in Haider Ali's heart, which is why he then decided to chase the UAE cap, which seems more meritorious.
After fulfilling the three-year residency rule criteria, Haider Ali became eligible to play for the UAE in 2025. He made his presence felt straight away with his left-arm finger spin and in his debut series against Bangladesh produced a match-winning spell of 4-1-7-3, helping UAE to register their first series win against a Test-playing nation.
He was also a part of the 2024-25 ILT20 winner, Dubai Capital's squad, thus adding one more feather under his cap. He has the most economical record in the ILT20 powerplay, conceding just 5.93 runs per over in the first six overs among bowlers with at least 20 innings.
Now at the ripe age of 31, he is all set to feature in his maiden ICC event, where he'll have the opportunity to showcase his talent in front of the entire world.
Haider Ali also shared his feeling on playing the maiden T20 World Cup. "This is the biggest stage in cricket and it's a dream of every cricketer to play a World Cup," Haider says. "I've seen many players who represent their country for ten years, but they have never played in a World Cup. If we want to become stars and do something special for our country, we have to go out and perform in the park. It's also in India, where people just love the game so much," he said in the interview.
