Faheem Ashraf began his career with aspirations of fast bowling, but it is as a lower-order left-handed batsman – the good old-fashioned pinch hitter – that he has introduced himself in international cricket. He blazed away to an unbeaten 64 off 30 balls against a Bangladesh side playing its best cricket in 2016-17 to upstage them in a warm-up match just before the 2017 Champions Trophy. That innings wasn’t a one-off for Ashraf, who has built a reputation for explosive hitting while batting with the tail; it especially impressed his mentor Tauseef Ahmed, who fast-tracked him to the international side.