Urooj Raza
RAWALPINDI: With peace restored in the region, cricket activities resumed in North Waziristan as Pakistan Cricket Board officials in collaboration with the Pakistan Army conducted open trials of aspiring cricketers in North Wazirstan Agency.
Under the Pakistan Cricket Board talent hunt program team the trials of youth of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were held at Younis Khan Cricket Ground Miranshah.
The trial team was comprised of Mr Mushtaq Ahmed Head coach National Cricket Academy (NCA) and former Test Cricketer, Mr Shadab Khan National Cricket team Leg Spinner, Yasir Shah and Ali Zia GM NCA. The team took trials and selected players will be part of PCB skill development camp under auspices of NCA. This will helps youth of FATA to showcase their talent and represent themselves at National level at par with other sportsmen from across the country.
It is pertinent to mention here that due to efforts and support of Pakistan Army to the Pakistan Cricket Board, international cricket is slowly returning to Pakistan. The holding of Pakistan Super League matches in Lahore and Karachi and the recent tour of West Indies during which three T20I were played in Karachi are a result of these efforts.
Last year in September, the headquarters of the North Waziristan Agency hosted a cricket match as part of the Peace Cup 2017 in which the UK Media team XI played Pakistan XI. The UK Media team XI was part of an 18-member group of journalists, lawyers, businessmen and academics aged 21-62 that toured Pakistan’s with the aim to improve its image as a sporting nation.
The match was held in collaboration with the Pakistan Cricket Board and Peshawar Zalmi. The match was fixed at Miranshah on the special instructions of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Javed Qamar Bajwa who dubbed it as a gift to the residents of Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata).