'Hundreds of players including Indian U19 stars have arrived here' - Sami Aslam reveals future plans of playing cricket in USA

The USA is trying hard to establish itself in the world of cricket and in the same light has started recruiting foreign players. Former Pakistan opening batsman Sami Aslam, who has now shifted his base to the United States made a startling revelation. 

The former Pakistan cricketer reckoned that the USA is keen on roping in players from Australia and South Africa but they are receiving a lot of queries from the domestic players of Pakistan and India. Aslam revealed that around 30 to 40 foreign players have arrived in the United States including India’s notable domestic players like Unmukt Chand, Smit Patel, and Harmeet Singh.

“30 or 40 foreign players have arrived in America recently. A few former Under-19 Indian players have also arrived, including Unmukt Chand, Smit Patel, and Harmeet Singh. There are many players from South Africa over here now who have played a lot of First-class cricket in their homeland. Former New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson is also here,” Aslam told Pakpassion.net.

Speaking about the factors that are attracting the players to the USA, the 25-year-old asserted that the whole setup in the States is very impressive as the players have the assistance of some really good coaches and trainers. Along with that, many cricket tournaments are organized in a week and gives the players an opportunity to play more and more cricket.

Any Pakistani player not centrally contracted will want to settle in USA: Sami Aslam

“There are trainers and good coaches also out here, some of whom have previously worked in the Indian Premier League. J Arunkumar is the USA Head Coach and he was formerly the Punjab Kings’ batting coach in the 2017 IPL season. He has also coached in the Ranji Trophy and he’s an excellent coach. There are tournaments regularly held around the country and leagues are played at weekends, so there’s quite a lot of cricket being played,” Sami added.

Further in the interaction, Sami spoke specifically about Pakistan’s domestic plyers. The youngster revealed that owing to the problems in Pakistan Cricket, he has been approached by at least 100 cricketers to know the procedure of shifting their base to the USA. Aslam quit playing for Pakistan after constantly being ignored by the selectors. The southpaw would be eligible to play for the United States of America on November 2023 after representing Pakistan in 13 Tests and four ODIs.

“I guarantee you that any Pakistani player who is not centrally contracted will want to settle in America and play cricket here. I have had calls from over 100 First-Class players in Pakistan exploring the possibility of them settling in America. Even the best performers currently in Pakistan domestic cricket are keen to move here,” Sami Aslam concluded.

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