— Grant Elliot, Danny Morrison praise Lahore Qalandars’ talent development program
Former New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott and well-known commentator Danny Morrison, addressing a press conference along with Lahore Qalandars owner Rana Fawad and Director of Cricket Aqib Javed, heaped praise on the PSL franchise’s grass-root level talent development program. Both the Qalandars’ cricketer and the prominent commentator arrived in Lahore on Tuesday ahead of Qalandars’ Rising Stars matches.
Qalandars star Elliott, best remembered for his ‘Bat Drop’ moment during PSL 2017, said that the franchise’s efforts to hunt and develop raw cricketing talent in far-flung areas of the country are commendable. “The Rising Stars is a program that has given back to cricket,” he said. Responding to a question, Elliott said that it was one of the greatest initiatives he has been involved in, and was honoured to be a part of it.
“To me, it was one of the greatest initiatives I have ever been involved in. All the credit goes to the Rana brothers. Who would have thought we’d find someone like Yasir Jan who can bowl with both arms,” the all-rounder said, referring to the young ambidextrous bowler discovered during the Qalandars program last year.
“T20 cricket is innovative and thrilling, and this program is exciting. It stands for everything the word ‘Qalandars’ stands for,” Elliott said. “It is enabling young talent to achieve their dreams, to access opportunities like playing in Australia, training with world-class facilities.”
Even if the youngsters don’t make it to top level cricket, this experience would still change their lives, Elliott added. Bahawalpur Rising Stars will take on Layyah in the first Pool-B match as the Rising Stars tournament resumes in Lahore today.
