KARACHI, Dec 26: The Cricket Association of China, in a letter sent to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently, have praised the services of former Test player Rashid Khan who has been working with them as coach for the last two months.

Saleem Altaf, the chief executive officer of the board, confirmed that they had received a letter from the Chinese cricket body which said that they were very satisfied with the hardwork put in by Rashid with their young players and also praised his dedication towards the job.

Rashid was sent as coach to China by the board after they received a request from the Asian Cricket Council to nominate someone for the coaching assignment.

Rashid who played four Tests and 29 One-day Internationals for Pakistan will work with the Chinese cricketers till the end of January 2007.

He took the under-15 Chinese team to an ACC qualifying tournament in Bangkok recently where they stunned everyone by beating Bahrain and playing well against the other teams to finish sixth among the ten teams in the final rankings.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm for cricket in China and the best part is they have all local players. They are a very determined and disciplined lot and I have no doubt that if they put their mind to it they will emerge as a good cricketing force soon,” said Rashid.

Rashid has also received a coaching offer from Saudi Arabia cricket association after his fine work with the Chinese.

The ACC and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have picked China as a potential market for cricket and have envisaged they would be taking part in the 2015 World Cup.

Altaf said the board was trying to send its coaches abroad on such assignments to give them experience and exposure and the feedback on Rashid had been excellent.

Rashid Khan who is employed with the national airlines has also worked as coach and manager with the Pakistan under-19 and A teams. In his last assignment as coach of the A team in Abu Dhabi earlier this year he guided his team to a victory over India in the final of a six-nation tournament.