Young Ahmad from Swabi likely to shine on U-16 tour of BD

SWABI: Young Ahmad Khan, who belongs to a destitute family of district Swabi, has done well to get selected in the Pakistan under-16 cricket team which will be departing for the tour of Bangladesh later this month.

The U-16 squad, which was named by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last week, will leave for Dhaka on April 25. During the tour, Pakistan team will play two three-day games and three 50-over matches. The tour will conclude on May 15. Ahmad, hailing from Thandkoi village near Swabi, is a right-handed batsman and bowler who has played the game well since his childhood and later appeared at the Yasir Shah Academy and was then selected from Abbottabad region by the PCB.

At present, he is being groomed at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and continues preparation for the Bangladesh tour under the PCB officials’ supervision.

Aamir Nawab, former member of PCB governing body, told Dawn that Ahmad is a talented boy and will hopefully shine at the international level.

Sudhir Khan, head of Yasir Shah Academy, said Ahmad had just passed grade eighth examination but could not study further due to the poor financial condition of his family. However, he concentrated on his game and then joined the academy. “Coaches in the academy imparted good training to him and they are of the opinion that Ahmad is a very talented cricketer who should do well for the country in years to come,” said Sudhir.

“Ahmad was a little child when his father passed away after protracted illness,” he said. “They are two brothers; his elder brother performs his duty at Pakistan Army.” —Muqaddam Khan

Mazhar in final, Hamza enters quarter-finals

KARACHI: Hamza Bhatti overcame stiff challenge from Eibad Sarwar in the quarter-final clash of the 3rd ACE Travels Sindh Ranking Tennis Championship being played here at the Union Club on Monday.

Talented Eibad matched Hamza stroke for stroke in the well contested match but in the end, Hamza took the third set convincingly 10-2 to win the battle and reach the semis.

In the under-17 semifinals, Mazhar Hayat cruised past Zain Ehtisham while in the soft tennis mixed doubles, the pair of Usama Saeed and Hania Naveed beat Robin and Marium Shahid with a 5-1 margin.

In the under-15 singles quarter-finals, Hasan Abrar, Husnain Khurram beat their respective rivals to advance.

Results:

Mens Singles (quarter-finals): Hamza Bhatti bt Eibad Sarwar 6-7, 6-3, 10-2

U -17 Singles (semifinal): Mazhar Hayat bt Zain ehtasham 4-6 6-4 10-0

U -11 Singles (quarter-finals): Rahim Khurram bt Azeemuddin 4-2 -42; Ahsan Ahmed bt Dhuraf Das 5-4 11-9

Soft Tennis Mixed Doubles (round robin): Usama Saeed + Hania Naveed bt Robin + Marium Shahid 5-1

U-15 Singles (quarter-finals): Hasan Abrar bt M Farooq Atiq 6-2 6-4; Husnain Khurrum bt Kashan Tariq 6-3 6-2; Zain Ehtisham walkover Taimoor Khan.—Agencies

Rangers CC distribute awards

KARACHI: Rangers Cricket Club, one of the oldest clubs affiliated with the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) celebrated its 56th anniversary with the annual prize distribution at the NBP Sports Complex here the other day.

Club president and ex-federal finance secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan was prominent among a host of dignitaries which included Iqbal Mahmood, Kunwar Idris, Haji Anwar Karim, Amin Dawood and ex-KCCA president Prof Sirajul Islam Bukhari.

Shields and club kits were awarded to the cricketers for their outstanding performances during 2018-19 season; the recipients were Ahmed Hussain (best batsman), Nasir Ali (best bowler), Babar Hussain (best all-rounder), S.M. Babar (best wicket-keeper) and Hayatullah Khan (best fielder).

Club shields were also presented to KMC commissioner Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman, ex-IGP Sindh Asad Jahangir Khan, Saleem Swaleh, Umar Shahid and Asim Altaf. Also present on the occasion was Ziaul Hasan.—Sports Reporter

Zareen stars with all-round show

KARACHI. Skipper Mohammad Zareen Khan excelled with a superb all-round show as LERP Taiser Town CC qualified for the last- eight stage of the KCCA Zone II ‘B’ Division League Cricket with a 20-run win over Qazzafi Gymkhana here on Sunday.

By virtue of this result the Eidgah Ground, Taiser Town became Group ‘E’ champions.

Zareen slammed 65 from 45 balls with eight fours and one six before snapping up five wickets for 52 runs with his off-spinners to be declared man-of-the-match.

Summarised scores:

LERP TAISER TOWN CC 223- 7 in 22 overs (Zain Hasan 85, Zareen Khan 65, Haider Khan 25, Shiraz Jadoon 22; Mohammad Javed 3-38, Mohammad Zafar 2-46); QAZZAFI GYMKHANA 203 in 21.2 overs (Ali Dad 70, Mohammad Talha 34, Mohammad Saqib 32; Mohammad Zareen Khan 5-52, Mohammad Hafeez 3-25, Zaman Khan 2-44).—Sports Reporter

Hansot Gymkhana in last four

KARACHI: Riding on fine knocks from Sufyan Saleem and Khizer Ali, Hansot Gymkhana sailed into the semi-finals of the Rising Star Invitation Trophy cricket tournament with an easy six-wicket victory over Union Sports at the T & T Ground here on Sunday.

After restricting Union Sports to 181-9 in 40 overs, Hansot Gymkhana reached 183-4 in the 24th over with Sufyan (61, eight fours) and Khizer (53, seven fours) leading their chase.

Summarised scores:

UNION SPORTS 181-9 in 40 overs (Salman Fareed 29, Mohammad Ikram 27, Farhan Anwar 22, Afsar Khan 21; Hamza Mughal 3-19, Irfan Inayat 3-44); HANSOT GYMKHANA 183-4 in 23.3 overs (Sufyan Saleem 61, Khizer Ali 53; Farhan Anwar 2-21).

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2019