Mohammad Irshad, the 28-year-old fast bowler from Khanewal, is delighted to have been given the opportunity to work with the Pakistan coach, Dav Whatmore, and expressed that he is still hopeful of playing for the country.
The strongly-built fast bowler was once considered to be the next big thing in Pakistan cricket after Shoaib Akhtar. Irshad is still one of the fastest bowlers in the domestic cricket of the country but has failed to make his debut for Pakistan, despite all the hype about him.
Irshad has so far taken 251 wickets in 85 first-class matches at an average of 31.07 runs per scalp. The right-arm fast bowler has represented Pakistan ‘A’ on a number of tours. However, his inconsistent performances at the domestic level have been one of the causes behind his non-selection.
The rookie has played for a number of domestic teams in the country and represented United Bank Limited (UBL) in the previous season. The tear-away fast bowler has not lost hope of playing for Pakistan and is optimistic that he will soon catch the eyes of the national selectors.
“There is absolutely no way that I am going to lose heart with what has happened over the years and at the moment my focus is on bowling well for United Bank and impressing the selectors. I’ve always had a dream to play international cricket and that dream is still very much alive,” he said while talking to Pakpassion.
Irshad was unofficially called up to the national camp in Lahore, which was organised for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, and the fast bowler caught the attention of Whatmore, who is always appreciative of the new talent. The seasoned campaigner expressed that the time spent with the national coach was valuable and it should help him to perform better and take more wickets in the next domestic season.
The fast bowler added, “To be able to work with and impress the likes of Dav Whatmore was just wonderful, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Dav (Whatmore) spent some time with me on a one to one basis which was very kind of him.”
