Staff Report
Rawalpindi: The 24-year-old Ahmed Bashir, who is representing Central Punjab in the National T20 Cup at Pindi Cricket Stadium, grabbed the long-awaited opportunity and picked 4-23 against Balochistan yesterday.
Vehari-Born made his second appearance of the tournament by replacing Ehsan Adil and now has seven wickets in the National T20 Cup. The right-arm pacer talked about his cricketing journey and goals in the recently released video by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“My aim is to represent Pakistan and to be amongst the best bowlers in international cricket. I used to visit cricket grounds with my grandfather who was also a pacer. He told me stories about his playing days and guided me on how to bowl fast,” he said.
“I moved to Lahore in 2010 to pursue my cricketing ambitions. My performances for Lahore at the U16 and U19 levels earned me a place in the Pakistan U19 team in 2014,” he added.
Ahmed also revealed his bowling inspirations and said that he usually watches their videos. “Shoaib Akhtar and Dale Steyn are my bowling idols. I admired their aggressive approach, wicket-taking ability and was inspired by their performances.
Ahmed removed Awais Zia, Haris Sohail, Amad Butt and Akbar-ur-Rehman in his quota of four overs which restricted Balochistan to 125-8. “I really enjoyed the wicket of Haris Sohail as he is a quality player. I was looking for a five-for after dismissing him but could not get there. Now I hope to get five wickets in a match soon,” he added. Ahmed has claimed 112 wickets in 26 first-class matches at an impressive bowling average of 20.14 with five five-wicket hauls. In List A cricket, he has taken 41 wickets in 28 matches while in T20 career. He has taken 22 wickets in 13 matches at 14.68 with an impressive economy rate of 6.97.
