‘Lots of people were pushing me to stop playing’ - Aamer Jamal reflects on early life as taxi driver and tough start to cricket

Making his Test debut for Pakistan, pacer Aamer Jamal put in a brilliant performance in the first Test against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Taking six wickets in the first innings, Jamal followed it up by taking another wicket in the second innings, and making quite the name for himself on the biggest stage against one of the toughest opponents in world cricket. 

However, things have not always been easy for Jamal. Speaking of his early life on the fourth day of the Perth Test, the 27-year-old stated that he faced rejection at several stages of his career and opined that many people pushed him to stop playing cricket.

"Lots of people were pushing me to stop playing cricket and (saying) 'there's no hope'. I said 'no, there is always hope'. You have to go for it, You have to work hard for it. You have to work harder than others," Aamer Jamal told Channel 7.

"Yes, I played Pakistan U19 and I couldn't make it to first-class cricket for 4 years. I decided to move to Australia to play a couple of games here. I decided to play for Hawkesbury in Sydney in the New South Wales Premier League. I played 4 or 5 months here. And then I heard the Pakistan U23 tour is going to happen. I wanted to go there and represent my country again. I went back to Pakistan, and didn't get a chance in the U23 team,” he added.

Our financial situation was not that strong: Jamal

Furthermore, Aamer also talked about how his family struggled financially in the early stages of his career. He also revealed how he started driving taxis to improve his financial situation. He stated that his dream of playing for Pakistan looked bleak.

"After that... our financial situation was not that strong. So I hired a car from a bank lease. I started driving a taxi. It was too hard to manage my time in terms of getting enough room for practice. It was hard to keep my dream alive to play for Pakistan," Jamal said.