Qalandars pick 16 players from Gujranwala for development program

 

GUJRANWALA: Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars today picked 16 skilled youngsters to form part of its player development program from Gujranwala

These Gujranwala Qalandars include: Muhammad Faiq, Shafqat Ali, Sheraz Hamza, Ashr Mehmood, Usaid Ameen, Waqas Ali, Usman Nazir, Rana Shazaib, Nadeem Khalil, Mohammad Zahid, Zubair Khan, Inam Javed, Frahan Mazhi , Haider Raza, Sultan Ahmad and Saqib.

The player development program by the PSL franchise has generate a new fever among cricket enthusiasts where players as young as 9 are coming for the trials and earning a spot in Qalandars Player Development Squad. 

The franchises stay in Gujranwala witnessed the selection of a young nine-year-old Taha Asif who aspires to be the next Sachin Tendulkar where the franchise has taken this young Qalandar under its wing for development as an upcoming cricketer in next couple of years.

Thousands of talented street cricketers tried their luck in all the aspects of game at the two-day trials in Gujranwala and according to Qalandars Chief Advisor and Chief Selector of Pakistan National Team Inzamam-ul-Haq the quality of game at Gujranwala was at par where selecting a handful of boys among the crowd of talented thousands presented a challenging task.

“The game of the boys here at Gujranwala is interesting, these young kids have a lot of facilities and we got to witness a show of that talent during the last two days. During the upcoming tournament, I expect the team of Gujranwala Qalandars to deliver some strong performances,” said Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was joined by Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar on the second day of the trials at Gujranwala Cricket Stadium along with the coaching staff of Lahore Qalandars headed by their Director Operations Aqib Javed.

‘The presence of Shoaib Akhtar on the field among us was enthralling. The fact that he was noticing me ball, pushed me to deliver an even faster delivery,’ said one of the aspiring Qalandar.

‘Development of cricket and providing recognition to the talent that is found in the streets of Pakistan is our agenda. We will continue to work for the development of players and domestic cricket in Pakistan. People are watching the work Lahore Qalandars is doing and it is aspiring a new hope among the young cricketers for their future’, remarked CEO Lahore Qalandars Atif Rana.

The team of Lahore Qalandars will now move to Lahore in the final leg of its talent hunt on 28th and 29th August at Gadaffi Stadium.