Imran Khan Junior believes mental strength is key to success

Left-arm medium pacer is on his way to become first cricketer from Swat to represent Pakistan internationally

Uncapped left-arm medium pacer Imran Khan Junior believes mental strength is the key to success in the game of cricket and his mind tells him he is ready to represent Pakistan at the international level.

Imran is on the verge of making history by becoming the first Swat-born player to play for Pakistan when he travels to Zimbabwe for two-T20 and three-ODI series.

The 27-year-old pacer has attracted a lot of attention since playing a pivotal role in helping Peshawar win back-to-back titles in Pakistan’s premier T20 tournament – the Haier Twenty20 Cup – this month.

PHOTO: AFP

“Wherever you play cricket you need to be mentally strong for it. If you are mentally strong then you can play cricket anywhere in world, therefore I believe I am ready to play international cricket,” said Imran, as quoted by cricket.com.au.

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“There is no better feeling than playing for your country. I want to play for Pakistan.”

Pakistan has seen 16 Test players coming from including big names like Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul and Younus Khan, however, the district of Swat has not been able to produce a player for the international arena but it won’t be long before this stat is overruled.

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The Swat valley has seen unsettledness ruling the region for most of the last decade due to the Taliban-led insurgency. Meanwhile, Pakistan Army forced more than two million people to evacuate the region to fight against the militants which included Imran. He and his family fled to Swabi to find shelter but on his return in 2009 he made sure he grabbed the opportunity presented to him.

“When I got the opportunity to play the leather-ball cricket I didn’t let it go,” Imran said, paying credit to Swat’s District Cricket Association for his success.

Imran came into the limelight when Peshawar won the national T20 tournament in Karachi with him leading the bowling table with 12 wickets. He didn’t fade after that and in the recently concluded Haier National T20 championship he led his team to another trophy with 16 scalps to his name.

One of his greatest achievement in the tournament was bowling a hat-trick maiden and accounting for three great Pakistani international players: Sarfraz Ahmed, Fawad Alam and Anwar Ali.



In the tournament final, he bowled four dot balls to Pakistan T20 captain Shahid Afridi before conceding a single on the fifth ball.

“I wanted to bowl at least one over to Afridi. I wanted to test my variations against him,” Imran told cricket.com.au.

“He is the most powerful hitter in the world, therefore I wanted to see if I could survive against his powerful hitting. It was a great feeling.”

When asked how did he manage to produce the magic with the ball he said: “I always read the batsman first. After I figure out his strength I find ways to bowl against his strength. Having control on your variation is the main art. If you have control on your variations then you can be successful in any situation.”

PHOTO: AFP

Imran, having the same name as Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup winning captain and now PTI leader Imran Khan, said he idolised the former all-rounder.

“My favourite hero in cricket is Imran Khan,” he said. “He is the only player who I idolise, because his way of playing cricket taught me how to handle difficult situations. Although I am not named after him, the name always instils passion in me.”