Bangladesh tour an excellent opportunity to groom players: Pakistan U-19 coach
Apr 02, 2021
Lahore [Pakistan] April 2 : The training camp for Pakistan Under 19 tour of Bangladesh began on Friday at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore with the players taking part in the three-hour-long session.
After the warm-up, the players went through fielding and net practice session under the supervision of head coach Ijaz Ahmed. Bowling coach Rao Iftikhar worked with the fast bowlers while spin bowling consultant Mushtaq Ahmed worked with the spinners.
Mushtaq will be part of the 10-day camp which will conclude on April 11 when the final 17-member squad files out to Dhaka for the one four-day and five 50-over matches.
"Today was the first day of the camp, the players have assembled with us after a couple of months so today we took updates on their fitness and assessed their form," said Pakistan U-19 head coach Ijaz Ahmed in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) release.
"I am really excited with the talent in this group, the tour of Bangladesh is an excellent opportunity for us in our endeavour of grooming these players not only for next year's ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup but also well beyond that as these are the players that are going to serve Pakistan cricket for the next decade and beyond," he added.
As per the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 age criteria, players born on or after September 1, 2002 have been selected. The tour has been arranged to provide further exposure to Pakistan cricket's future stars following an extensive camp at the start of the year at the National High Performance Centre in Lahore.
The squad will play a three-day practice match from Sunday following their second practice session on Saturday. Two 50-over matches will also be held during the camp, the squad will be trimmed to 17-players during the camp.