Pakistan’s cricket chief selector Iqbal Qasim was all praise for left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan. Iqbal said that the youngster has a great future ahead of him if he remained focused. His best performance came against Sri Lanka in the first Test of the three-match series in United Arab Emirates, when the rookie picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings at Abu Dhabi. Junaid came through the ranks of junior cricket in Pakistan and played alongside another talented youngster. It was Qasim who picked Junaid for Pakistan Under-19s. He claimed that both the youngsters had the same ability but Amir was lucky that he got the opportunity earlier than the fast bowler from Abbottabad. Qasim was quoted by Pakpassion as saying, “Junaid is a very talented bowler. I saw Amir and Junaid when I was chief selector when they had just started playing U-19 cricket. Both of them had the same potential, both of them had a lot of bite, eagerness, enthusiasm and terrific control.” Iqbal praised his performance in the first Test against the Islanders but he hopes that the left-arm fast bowler can carry on with the good work and remains composed for success. “He bowled well in the first Test. He has to concentrate hard, keep his focus and perform constantly and in different conditions. With the passage of time he will learn. If he keeps working hard, he has a big future ahead,” he added.
