‘U19 camp breeding quality spinners’

Juniors head coach Ijaz believes slow bowlers will be ready for first team in two years

KARACHI:

Pakistan U19 head coach Ijaz Ahmed believes the spinner being trained at the ongoing high performance camp can serve the national team in the next two years, a PCB press release read.

“We have been working hard with these spinners for two years, they graduated from the U16 stage and have been developing brilliantly. The PCB has provided us great support with Mushtaq Ahmed working with the spinners during the training camps that we have arranged over the course of the last 12 to 18 months,” said Ijaz.

“The ongoing camp in Karachi has given an extended opportunity of further honing the skills of the spinners, at present, we have top quality left-arm spinners, leg-spinners and off-spinners in Ali Asfand, Aaliyan Mehmood, Faisal Akram, Mehran Mumtaz and Zeeshan Ahmed besides all-rounders like Qasim Akram and Fahad Munir who have the talent and temperament of becoming world-class performers by delivering the goods both at the U19 level and as future Pakistan stars.

“I have full confidence in their abilities and I am ready to say with full conviction that these spinners will be ready to serve Pakistan cricket in the next two years, the scarcity of quality spinners will become a thing of the past in the near future.”

Meamwhile, National High Performance Centre bowling consultant Mushtaq Ahmed praised the young’uns brimming with spin talent.

‘’We are very fortunate to have a quality crop of spinners that have immense potential and talent. These players have graduated from the U16s and have made massive improvements in their game both from a technical as well as tactical aspects. As a spin bowling coach, my role is to provide them game awareness, reading pitches, the knowledge about various variations and how to deliver them, field placing as how to psyche out a batter,” said Mushtaq.