Who is Khawaja Nafay? 3 interesting facts about Quetta Gladiators' rising star playing PSL 2024 

Young sensation Khawaja Nafay was the breakout star for the Quetta Gladiators as they won their second game on the bounce in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 by beating the Quetta Gladiators by five wickets on Monday.

Nafay scored 60 runs off just 31 balls in an innings that included four boundaries and three sixes to ensure that the Gladiators got over the line with five balls to spare.

Ever since Nafay has played this knock, there has been a sense of intrigue in the cricketing fraternity about the story of the 22-year-old, who could be the next big thing in Pakistan cricket. On that note, let's take a look at three interesting facts you need to know about Khawaja Nafay:

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#1 Khawaja Nafay went to BPL due to his batting videos on Facebook

Khawaja Nafay hasn't played any first-class cricket so far. It was his batting videos on Facebook that went viral and he made a reputation as an explosive batter. He used to play in corporate league cricket and also uploaded his performances for the Karachi Gymkhana.

With as many as 56,000 followers on Facebook, Nafay's videos were shared so much that he got a shock call-up from the Chattogram Challengers in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2023. The power of social media once again showed the ability to unearth a potential hidden gem.

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#2 The Liaquat Khan connection with the Quetta Gladiators

Khawaja Nafay didn't have a great BPL campaign as he scored just 13 runs in three games that he played for the Challengers. However, the Quetta Gladiators still picked him in the PSL 2024 draft because of his ability seen in those viral videos.

The common connection was the Gladiators' throwdown specialist Liaquat Khan, who was also Nafay's head coach. Quetta and Sarfaraz Ahmed took a punt on Nafay's potential and that seemed to have paid rich dividends so far. The 22-year-old dedicated his Player of the Match award to Liaquat Khan.

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#3 Khawaja Nafay's favorite Indian batter is Rohit Sharma

Khawaja Nafay has also claimed that Babar Azam and Rohit Sharma are his favorite batters. The class of Babar and the explosiveness of Rohit were both seen in Nafay's whirlwind knock against Lahore.

The youngster was so good in balancing his big hits with the running between the wickets that he faced just one dot ball in his innings. He is the only batter in the history of the PSL who has faced just one dot ball in an innings of 30 or more deliveries.

Nafay's no-look sixes also show that he has the flair needed for the shortest format. If he has a fantastic PSL 2024, one may not completely rule out him having an outside chance to make it to Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2024 squad.