Our Correspondent
Lahore
To ensure the health and safety of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, player support personnel and their families, the Pakistan Cricket Board has arranged a chartered flight that will transport them to Karachi.
This group of 50 people on Tuesday will enter the bio-secure bubble in a local hotel. While the players and support staff in Karachi are already observing isolation at their homes, players from other parts of the country have arrived here before departing for Karachi tomorrow, Tuesday where the first Test will begin on 26 January.
Upon arrival in Karachi, the entire group will undergo a third round of testing before they are allowed to resume training on Thursday, 21 January. Apart from members of the Pakistan squad and their families, National High Performance coaches, Mohammad Yousuf and Saqlain Mushtaq, will also travel on the chartered flight. The two will join Grant Bradburn to follow the last leg of the Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament, which concludes on 31 January. As Pakistan squad for the three T20I series will enter the bio-secure bubble here on 3 February, the National High Performance coaches will oversee preparations of the T20I squad until the team management assumes charge following the second Test, starts in Rawalpindi on 4 February. The visit to Karachi is part of starting the preparations well in advance so that they can make best use of the time. Meanwhile, all the players and player support personnel have cleared their second testing, while the third tests will be conducted in Karachi tomorrow, Tuesday.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kamran Ghulam not only broke the record for most runs in a single Quaid-e-Azam Trophy this season, he also earned the recognition of being named the Domestic Cricketer of the Year in recently held Pakistan Cricket Boards Annual Awards. Kamran broke more than 36-year-old record held by opener Saadat Ali, who had scored 1,217 in the 1983-84 season.
After the record and recognition, Kamran also received the ultimate reward as the right-handed batsman is one of the nine uncapped players named in Pakistan’s 20-member squad for the two Test-match series against South Africa starting from 26 January at the National Stadium.
The 25-year-old Upper Dir-born batsman scored 1249 runs in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2020-21 at an average of 62.45. He scored five centuries and as many half centuries, with 166 his best score. Overall Kamran has scored 2413 runs in 31 first-class matches, his runs tally includes nine centuries and 11 half centuries at an average of 50.27. Kamran was supported by his brothers when he migrated from Upper-Dir to Peshawar in 2010 for the love of game, as cricket was the biggest passion of his life. He was picked in Pakistan U19 squad for the tour of England in 2013 following which he got selected in Asia Cup U19 tournament the same year.
In the Asia Cup, Kamran scored 217 from five matches at an average of 72.33. He struck one century and one half-century; with an unbeaten 102 his highest score in the tournament final against India.
The jubilant Kamran Ghulam said on Monday, ‘Getting into the 20-player squad out of a population of 220 million people in a historic series is something for me and my family to celebrate and enjoy. ‘I am glad that domestic cricket is being valued and respected, and my selection will give boost to other domestic players to perform and progress to the international stage. —APP
