KARACHI, Nov 8: Pakistan player Ataur Rehman, who has been banned from international cricket, said Thursday he would launch a cricket academy after passing coaching lessons in the UK.

“I have done level two of the coaching course and will pass the higher levels soon and then launch a cricket academy in Lahore to groom young and poor players,” Rehman told SADA.

“I’ll pick them up from poor areas and then groom them. It would not be a purely business venture.”

Rehman, who is free to play domestic cricket in Pakistan, is playing for Allied Bank in a match in Karachi. Rehman, 27, played 13 Tests and 30 one-day.