Aaqib Javed terms talent hunt in Muzzaffarabad a success

Lahore Qalandars organised a talent hunt competition in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan which turned out to be a huge success. The tournament didn’t feature any big name but still, it was able to draw large crowds. The tournament attracted more people than the Pakistan‘s premier domestic competition Quaid-e-Azam Trophy which featured big names.

Trials conducted in many states

Lahore Qalandars’ director Aaqib Javed said that electrifying environment is the main reason for the response they got from the fans to the tournament. Lahore which is a PSL franchise conducted talent hunt programmes in 9 cities of Punjab and PoK.

“Usually, we don’t get to see more than 50-60 players coming for the trials, but here we have witnessed even 26,000 at a single venue,” said Aaqib as quoted by the Dawn.

The former Pakistan fast bowler further said that they used modern technologies to conduct the trials. He felt very proud to disclose the fact that they were able to unearth many talented players through the program.

“We have used imported speed guns which are being used in baseball in the US,” disclosed Aaqib. “During the trials, we have discovered more than 12 fast bowlers who can bowl over 88 miles per hour,” he claimed.

Merit only parameter for selection

Aaqib disclosed the fact that former Pakistan batsman Salim Malik’s son was rejected in many trials because he wasn’t good enough. He revealed that merit was the only basis of selection.

“Pakistan’s former Test player Salim Malik did everything to get his son selected into a team but he was rejected at five trials,” he said. “It was only when we got two good pacers selected from Gujranwala and then there was a demand for a batsman from that region that his son was selected.”

Crowd surprised Aaqib

Aaqib said that he had never seen such crowds in his life and credited the LQ program for changing the mindset of the people. He said that this will provide International exposure to the players at a young age.

“This platform will provide youngsters with five international opportunities at the start of their career. When the team returns from Australia, they will have Emirates T20, PSL and MCC. And when Durban Qalandars will do a talent hunt in South Africa, that team will be coming to play here in Kashmir,” he added.