New Zealand’s batter Colin Munro and South Africa’s leg-spinner Imran Tahir have joined the Pakistan Junior League project as team mentors.
The duo joins Daren Sammy, Shahid Afridi, and Shoaib Malik in the roles who were named last month while the appointment of the sixth team mentor will be announced in due course.
The players will be named to the teams after the finalization of the naming rights.
Javed Miandad will continue in his role as the overall tournament mentor, assisting all six sides during the course of the tournament.
The inaugural season of the league which is being launched to find budding cricketing talent in the country will be held at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore from 4-17 October.
Colin Munro and Imran Tahir are part of the Pakistan Super League before now joining the Junior League as well.
Tahir represented Pakistan in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 1998 before moving to South Africa, making his international debut for the Proteas in 2011.
The wrist-spinner played in 20 Tests, 107 ODIs, and 38 T20Is, taking 57, 173, and 63 wickets, respectively while in the PSL he represents Multan Sultans.
Munro, meanwhile, represented Karachi Kings in the 2019 PSL before becoming part of Islamabad United’s roster in 2020.
While talking to PCB, Imran expressed his delight in receiving the role.
“Returning to Lahore for the Pakistan Junior League in a team mentor’s role is one of my most satisfying achievements as I still owe a lot to my country of birth. This is an exciting opportunity to work with emerging slow bowlers and help them develop and flourish so that they have a chance to emulate the great spinners this country has produced.
Colin Munro: “I am excited to be part of the inaugural Pakistan Junior League, which I believe will be a game-changer for Pakistan cricket. Investing in youngsters, securing the future of the game, and ensuring the national side continues to move in an upward direction should be the objectives of all administrators and I think the PCB has taken a lead here by launching this tournament, which will expose the young talent to the rigors and demands of top-level cricket and help Pakistan in the longer run.
