PROFESSIONAL cricket activities have resumed at Pakistan Club after a gap of 10 years, thanks to its new director of cricket affairs Mujtaba Nazir.
Top class cricket first started at the club, which was founded in 1948, in 1973 and continued uninterrupted till 2004. Since then, however, professional cricket ceased and only tennis-ball and other forms of under-11 cricket were played.
But professional cricket got a boost at the club recently with former Pakistani cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq, who is also the bowling coach of the England team, unveiling the team’s jersey, thanks again to Nazir, who was instrumental in bringing Pakistani international cricketers like Mushtaq and Mohammed Yousef to Bahrain.
The club, which is registered with Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) and Cricket Bahrain Association (CBA), has also started a cricket academy to hunt new talent.
“We are focusing on giving youngsters as young as six a chance to hone their talent. At the same time, the door is open to teenagers to develop their’s too,” said Nazir.
“We are also planning to get many more international cricketers to Bahrain so that youngsters here can get inspired by their achievements and dream of following in their foot steps.”
The new Pakistan Club team played four matches last month, winning two and losing the other two.
In the first match, Pakistan Club beat Bassali CC but lost the second to RKCT CC. They then beat Striker CC before falling to their second defeat against Redx.
Nazir thanked CBA president Salem Elias and Sajid Shaikh for their cooperation in helping the club get back to professional cricket.