Junaid, a star in the making

I believe Red Rose should persist with Junaid Khan, the Pakistan left-arm bowler whom I recommended to cricket director Mike Watkinson earlier this year. This 21-year-old Junaid has done me proud with a string of stunning performances in helping Lancashire reach the quarter-finals of the Friends Life T20. His performances, especially with his skill of bowling fast swinging yorkers at the death, have led many to compare him with me.
Although he was initially signed just for the Twenty20 competition, he is now staying on until the end of the campaign. I spent 11 seasons with Lancashire and helped them to a glut of one-day silverware in the 1990s and now I believe Junaid can become a star at Old Trafford over the next few years. Junaid is a very talented guy. He is young, eager and wants to play every game. He has a passion for the game, which is very important for a young player, and is a team man. I first saw him in the nets while he was with the Pakistan World Cup squad and he impressed me. Mike Watkinson rang me to ask about him and I told him I was impressed.
I then asked Shahid Afridi and he backed up my thoughts, and that’s what I told Mike. I learnt so much in my first season at Lancashire and finished that year a better player than when I had arrived. That is what I think will happen with Junaid. I know some people are saying he is the next Wasim Akram – well I hope he is! He is so talented and in six or seven years he could well be up there with the best. Lancashire should maybe sign him up for the future. When I first came to Lancashire as a 20-year-old I had never lived abroad before.
While there I learned a new culture – a northern culture which was warm and friendly – and learnt how to become independent and make my own decisions. My 10 years at Lancashire helped me improve my game, but also while I was there I never had a boring day. All the players at the club gelled so well, it was like a big family. We always stuck together, however difficult a position we were in.