June 08, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1428

KARACHI, June 7: A summer coaching camp for the cricketers of the under-19 and under-14 age groups is being organised by Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi here later this month.

For this purpose admission forms will be available on Friday between 2.00pm and 6.00pm at the National Stadium.

Trials for the under-14 age group will be held at the National Stadium on Saturday (June 9) while for the under-19 group, the trials are scheduled for Sunday (June 10).

Afridi, the world record holder for the fastest ODI century, told Dawn on Thursday that the aim behind the camp, for which the dates and venue will be announced later, is to unearth the talented players of the city.

“Sadly, nowadays we are not producing such cricketers from our city. I think as national heroes, it is our foremost duty to make some sort of contribution to ensure we don’t lag behind,” Afridi, who sometimes becomes a real nightmare for bowlers, expressed.

He added it is imperative Karachi plays its part in providing a pool of talented players for the national teams.

“There was a time in the past when there was stiff competition for places at the Karachi level and a number of those players went on to represent Pakistan. But now there are hardly a couple of players representing Karachi in our national teams,” he noted.

Afridi, a lusty hitter, stressed that presently it would be premature to give further details of how the camp will function.

“But I intend to invite a good number of former and current Pakistan players during the camp for giving tips as well as do some coaching,” he said.