LAHORE – The HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been a great platform forthe youngsters to showcase their talent and make their mark in the Pakistannational cricket team.
In the last three years to date, many cricketers such as Fakhar Zaman,Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Rumman Raees to mention a few, havegone on to play for Pakistan after proving their worth in the tournament,according to an analysis conducted here on Saturday.
The HBL PSL 2019 is now set to provide an opportunity for the next group ofemerging players to shine and use it as a stepping stone in their dream ofrepresenting Pakistan at international level. There are some of theemerging players to watch out for over the next few weeks.
Rizwan Hussain (Islamabad United) Cricket hero: Kumar Sangakkara Twenty-twoyears old Rizwan Hussain is a hard-hitting opening batsman from Lahore, whowas picked by Islamabad United as one of the supplementary players from theemerging category in the players draft for HBL Pakistan Super League2019. Rizwanoriginally belongs to Pir Mahal, a small city in Toba Tek Singh district,but moved to Lahore in 2012 to pursue a career in cricket.
“I used to play cricket in school. My teachers suggested to my parents tosend me to a bigger city to become a cricketer. That was when I startedtaking interest in cricket,” recalls Rizwan.
After having had successful seasons in Lahore’s club cricket, where heplays for P&T Gymkhana, and a few performances in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy,Rizwan caught the attention of the United and was picked for the HBL PSLeven before his T20 debut. Rizwan made his first T20 appearance in theNational T20 Cup 2018 in Multan and ended the tournament as second-highestrun-getter, scoring 311 runs at an average of 51.83 and a strike-rate of131.77.
“I will try my best to be the best batsman of the HBL PSL 2019 and, atleast, score one century. But my ultimate dream, like any other cricketer,is to play for Pakistan.”Umer Khan (Karachi Kings)
Cricket hero: Younis Khan and Rangana Herath The 19-year-old left-armspinner Umer Khan made a dream debut in first-class cricket this seasonwhen he took six wickets in Sui Southern Gas Corporation’s win overPeshawar in Karachi. Although he went unnoticed in the November 2018 HBLPSL draft, Karachi Kings picked him in the replacement draft in January as21st player.
Although Umer was born in Rawalpindi district and started cricket inTaxila, his ancestral place is Mohmand district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The left-arm finger spinner was part of the Pakistan Under-19 team thatrecently beat Bangladesh by one wicket in an Emerging Asia Cup match inGalle. He is uncapped at T20 level but very keen to make a mark in thecoming HBL PSL.
“HBL PSL is a great opportunity for young players like me. If given achance in the tournament, my aim will be to win it for Karachi Kings. As abowler, I want to give tough time to the best batsmen in the tournament,”said Umer.
Haris Rauf (Lahore Qalandars) Cricket hero: Dale Steyn The 25-year-old fastbowler is one of the most talked-about emerging players ahead of the fourthHBL PSL. Picked by Lahore Qalandars through their Players DevelopmentProgramme, the right-arm fast bowler has the ability to go above 150kmphand is known for his yorkers as he showed in the Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy lastOctober.Haris has played only two T20s so far — for Qalandars against Titans andHobart Hurricanes in Abu Dhabi, taking a wicket in each match. He bowledseven overs in a pair of T20 games conceding at only 6.71 per over. Thespeedster hails from Rawalpindi and went to Gujranwala for trials conductedby the Qalandars in 2017.
“I was picked by Lahore Qalandars for HBL PSL. The coach Aqib Javed haslent me lot of support. He took me to Australia and suggested me to observecricket there,” said Haris. “This year, I also got a chance to bowl atworld’s best batsmen, including Virat Kohli, before the New Year Test inSydney.
I gained lot of confidence by bowling at him. The whole experience has beena good learning curve for me. “I am looking to do well in the coming HBLPSL and my target in the tournament will be to bowl as fast as I can.”
Saud Shakeel (Quetta Gladiators) Cricket hero: Kumar Sangakkara The highlytalented middle-order batsman Saud Shakeel is from Karachi where he startedhis cricket at the UBL Sports Academy. He is 23 years old and was part ofthe Pakistan team that played the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup final againstSouth Africa in Dubai in 2014.
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He was first picked by Quetta Gladiators for the HBL PSL 2018, but didn’tget any games. He is one of those players who was retained by theGladiators for the 2019 season, he is likely to make his HBL PSL debut thisyear.
Saud is yet to show his true potential in T20 cricket, but has scored 1,987runs in 50 overs cricket at an impressive average of 52.28 with the help oftwo centuries. “My goal is to play for Pakistan in all three formats and Iwant to have a long international career,” said Saud.
“I also want to play a winning role for Quetta Gladiators in the coming HBLPSL, which is a fantastic tournament for the youngsters. It is anopportunity for the players to prove their talent and cement a place in thenational team.”
Samiullah Afridi (Peshawar Zalmi) Cricket hero: Mohammad Hafeez,Misbah-ul-Haq and Kevin Pietersen
The 22-year-old top-order batsman Samiullah Afridi got the attention of HBLPSL franchises when he scored an unbeaten 104 for FATA against an SNGPLteam that comprised eight Test cricketers in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy thisseason.
Samiullah natively belongs to Khyber Agency, but was born and raised inPeshawar where he started his cricket career in 2010 and played at both theunder-16 and under-19 levels. He was picked by Peshawar Zalmi as asupplementary player.
With 167 runs at 23.28, he was also the top run-getter for FATA in theNational T20 Cup in Multan in 2018.
“I was selected for HBL PSL through a Peshawar Zalmi’s player developmentprogram. I scored over 400 runs in their Azadi Cup tournament and wasdeclared as the best batsman,” said Samiullah. “I also scored most runs forFATA in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy this season. My aim is to take this forminto the HBL PSL.”
Mohammad Ilyas (Multan Sultans) Cricket hero: James Anderson The19-year-old fast bowler is an uncapped T20 player, but his numbers infirst-class cricket are eye-catching. Ilyas is a product of club cricket inPeshawar and made his first-class debut this season.
In the very first match of his career, Ilyas accounted for 10 wickets,helping Peshawar to register a win against Islamabad in a Quaid-e-AzamTrophy match. He took five wickets in each innings. In five four-day games,he has picked 33 wickets at an average of 15.90 and taken three five-wickethauls.
He was picked by Multan Sultans as an emerging player in the players draftfor HBL PSL 2019. “I used to play cricket with my brothers. The people whoused to watch me suggested to my eldest brother to get me admitted in aproper cricket academy because they thought I had the potential to play thegame at higher levels,” said Ilyas.
“I want to be among the top-five bowlers in the HBL PSL.” “I am lookingforward to the tournament and particularly excited at the prospect ofplaying with Shahid Afridi.”
