3 reasons why Hassan Khan is the next big thing in USA cricket 

Just hours after Sportskeeda published an interview feature on San Francisco Unicorns' Hassan Khan, the all-rounder came up with perhaps his best performance of Major League 2024 against Washington Freedom in the Qualifier, though in a losing cause.

The Karachi-born scored a half-century amid a landslide of wickets at the other end to give his team a respectable total of 145 in the first innings. In the second essay, he took two of the three wickets to fall even as Travis Head's 77 (44) flew Freedom to a seven-wicket win in 15.3 overs.

Although Hassan needs a couple of years to be eligible to represent the USA side, he's still just 25. And irrespective of what happens in the knock-out game 'Challenger' against Texas Super Kings, he has done enough to be considered as the next big thing for the country. Below, we explain why:

#3 Unique set of skills for USA cricket

The USA national team is made up of players from around the world, including a good few from the sub-continent. But they are yet to find someone who can give them four economical overs and hit the ball as big and cleanly as Hassan does in the lower order.

Find the highlights reel for the game against Freedom and check how he hits Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Maxwell and Rachin Ravindra. Having grown up in Karachi and playing Pakistan Super League as a teenager, T20 runs in Hassan's blood and his body and technique are well-oiled for it.

USA's best performances in the 2024 T20 World Cup came on difficult batting tracks where their batters could build innings and launch. That's because a lot of those players are junior cricketers from their countries who are excellent long-format players but struggle with big-hitting.

But as they move forward and find flatter tracks in T20Is, they'll need to evolve into a power-hitting team. Hassan could be the first piece of a potentially brilliant puzzle.

#2 More than variations, he has the smarts to take big wickets

There are a ton of bowlers in international and domestic cricket who can show you variations and different plans for a range of opposition players. However, when you look for an international star, you look for simple processes and top-class execution.

That's what Hassan is with the ball. He has a lot of experience of playing alongside and bowling to the biggest names in international cricket.

At MLC 2024, his portfolio includes names like Heinrich Klaasen, who he dismissed with an excellent length ball that bounced and turned to make the explosive batter mis-hit one of his favorite shots -- the backfoot loft against spinners.

He has bowled almost each of his overs in MLC 2024 in the second half of an innings when the batters are looking to take on the bowlers. But still, he has managed an economy rate of 5.70 - the best in the league overall for all bowlers who have bowled at least 10 overs.

He's a really smart bowler who can fool opposition players and goes through the overs quickly. He had already looked a level above the rest in MLC 2024 and now all the signs point to someone who can dominate the headlines in the next few years of league and international cricket.

#1 Gift of temprament

Finally, to make it big, the one thing you need over skills and execution is temperament. There's no point in being the best batter or bowler in the world skill or knowledge-wise but not being able to execute it under pressure.

Hassan has that temperament in spades. In fact, he made his name by hitting a six against a Kieron Pollard slower one off the penultimate ball of the match in the PSL as a 19-year-old.

His first half-century of MLC came when his side had lost four wickets for 49 runs in the Qualifier against the best bowling attack in the tournament. Throughout the tournament, he has picked wickets when the pressure has been the highest on his team.

You can find talented cricketers but such all-rounders with an excellent mentality and a point to prove are hard to come by. The USA should let him get all the experience in the world before he becomes eligible to play and then make him one of the pillars of their T20 future.