Pakistan Premier League’s team Lahore Qalandars has announced ‘The Jazz Rising Stars ‘selected team which will be travelling to Australia, to play a tri-angular series with Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers.
This move has been made to further the development of grass roots cricket in the country by providing youth with a platform to further hone and showcase their skills.
“As a team, our primary aim obviously is to win for the fans, but we also have this secondary focus on positively impacting the local cricketing environment. The Jazz Rising Stars initiative has been envisioned to do just that. After launching the first ever career oriented talent hunt, we are looking to develop the next generation of cricketers, who will not only bolster the ranks of Lahore Qalandars but hopefully, also go on to represent the national team,” said Lahore Qalandars Chairman Fawad Rana, -.
Lahore Qalandars CEO Atif Rana explained,“The aspiring cricketers will not have to seek nationalities of developed cricketing nations for opportunities. All they have to do is to come to Qalandars and we will give them chances at competitive level”.
Lahore Qalandars has signed a contract with Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Thunder which will allow the two to exchange academy facilities, training staff, and emerging players. The contract allows Lahore Qalandars’ emerging players to use Thunder’s facilities.
The 15 chosen players include: Tabriaz, Saadullah, Rafeh, Ameer, Najid, Sikandar, Saif, Ghulaam, Usman, Yasir, Ehtisham, Ahmed, M. Irfan, M. Umar, and Mudassar.