junaid khan, 2013 champions trophy, pakistan cricket, pakistan cricket board, pcb, wasim akram
“PCB has also advised me to skip county offers to avoid possible injuries before the mega event scheduled in England later this year.” -Photo by AFP

KARACHI: Pakistan’s emerging paceman Junaid Khan has passed over several county offers and is solely “focused” on being super fit for the upcoming Champions Trophy.

Khan, who excelled in Pakistan’s series win against India and also had a decent tour of South Africa recently, caught the attention of English county Durham. But the left-arm fast bowler, who has already played for Lancashire, says the offers will have to wait.

“I have played for Lancashire, and recently got good offers from Durham and a few other county teams. However, my entire focus is on the Champions Trophy at the moment, hence I turned down the offers”, Khan said in an interview.

According to Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board has also advised the bowler to keep himself injury free as Pakistan faces a long lay-off between now and June, when the Champions Trophy begins.

“PCB has also advised me to skip county offers to avoid possible injuries before the mega event scheduled in England later this year,” Khan said referring to a leg injury he suffered on the tour of South Africa.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old said he was excited at the prospect of learning a few things when legendary paceman and compatriot Wasim Akram joins Pakistan’s training camp before the Champions Trophy.

“I heard Wasim Akram will also visit the training camp and that would the best opportunity for a youngster like me to learn from the master.”

Opinion

Editorial

Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...
By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...