MULTAN: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan inaugurated the Inzamam-ul-Haq Multan High Performance Cricket Centre (HPCC) here on Thursday.

Subhan Ahmed, Mudassar Nazar, Ali Zia, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Shabbir Ahmed, Manzoor Elahi, Zahoor Elahi, Malik Bashir, regional coaches and dignitaries attended the inauguration ceremony.

Addressing on the occasion, the PCB chairman said, “I am immensely pleased to inaugurate the state-of-the-art centre named after Inzamam-ul-Haq for his services towards Pakistan cricket, the second such facility in the country after Lahore.

“The HPCC will help carter for young talent available in Southern Punjab and provide opportunities to young players to train under the supervision of professional coaches.

“I assure you that with the unflinching verve, activeness and innovative approach of highly qualified coaching/support staff employed by the PCB for this HPCC, the numbers will increase significantly. The PCB is very much on a mission to promote the game in remote areas by making this first HPCC operational with Karachi to follow soon.”

He named players block of the academy after late Aamir Bashir, a cricketer from Multan who died at a very young age, for his outstanding performance for the region.

Moreover, former Test all-rounder Mudassar said, “The academy has become functional with the stay of two first class regional teams during the recent National T20 Cup in Multan and U-19 two-week high-performance camp.

“A two-week specialised camp for emerging fast bowlers and batsmen under the supervision of NCA coaches was in full swing since Nov 28, 2016 in the same HPCC.

“The HPCC will be able to house 40 people at a time for academy’s programmes. With the support of PCB, the regional academy will also be set up in Abbottabad and in other remote areas.”

Inzamam, who is Pakistan’s chief selector, thanked the chairman for honouring him.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2016