SAHIWAL: A six-and-a-half-year-old boy whose video recently went viral on social media showing him practicing bowling belongs to 23/11-L village, Chichawatni tehsil.

The boy is said to be bowling in a way similar to renowned left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram.

Muhammad Hasan Akhtar is a Class II student and studies in a private village school. The video was uploaded by a villager while Akhtar was bowling in the courtyard of his house. He is said to have the same left-arm bowling action as did Wasim Akram. His father, Muhammad Akhtar, said he had eight children and Akhtar was the youngest.

Akhtar told Dawn on phone that he had won a trophy in a double wicket cricket tournament held in his village last month. He said he preferred bowling.

After coming across the video clip on social media, cricket legend Akram tweeted: “Where is this boy??? We have serious talent flowing through the veins of our nation and no platform for these kids to be discovered. It’s time we do something about it #TheFutureOfCricketIsWithOurYouth.”

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2018