Hafeez helping potential cricketers in Sargodha

Pakistan all-rounder sets up coaching programme for U16, U25 players.

KARACHI: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who recently relinquished his T20 captaincy, is utilising the off season to help young cricketers learn the technical side of the game in his native city, Sargodha.

He has set up a five-day programme named ‘Skills to Shine’, for which 40 outstanding cricketers were selected after trials and are now being given tips from qualified coaches of the National Cricket Academy and Hafeez himself.

The 33-year-old said it felt great imparting knowledge to the upcoming cricketers as he had earlier been busy with national duties over the past few years.



“Skills to Shine is a project which I’ve launched in order to let the players know how professional cricketers should go about their business,” Hafeez told The Express Tribune.

“There are many youngsters who want to play cricket and work hard, but they lack guidance to help them move forward. It is important for young players to be aware so that they can move in the right direction instead of aimlessly plodding away.”

Hafeez stressed that this project would eventually expand to other cities as well since he wanted to give something back to the country.

The Professor is bearing all the costs of the project and revealed that all 40 players will be provided proper cricketing gear and kits at the end of the programme to further their performance in domestic cricket.

Consisting of players from the U16-U25 categories, the programme has provided this opportunity to those from small towns and villages as well, so that others may follow them to take up the sport.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2014.

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