I’m ready to play the next year’s World Cup as well: Imran Tahir

Not a lot of cricketers who are active are at the age of 42. This is simply because the sport has evolved and become so challenging that it is quite difficult for someone to carry on with their career after 40. However, that is not Imran Tahir. The veteran leg-spinner is currently playing in the Pakistan Super League and expressed his desire to take part in the upcoming T20 World Cup for South Africa. 

Playing for the Multan Sultans, Tahir has been extremely successful in the ongoing season of PSL. He has taken 10 wickets in six matches at an average of 13.70 and an economy of 6.52. In a recent interaction, he was asked if he was ready to play for the Proteas in the upcoming T20 World Cup, the leggie responded by saying that he is even ready to play the next year’s tournament. 

I’m trying to prove myself and perform in the PSL: Imran Tahir

The Pakistan-born South African cricketer expressed that he believes that he wants to continue playing cricket till the time he is enjoying it. Tahir had announced his retirement from ODI cricket at the end of the 2019 World Cup and continued playing franchise cricket across the globe. “So as long as I am enjoying it, I want to play if it is the upcoming World Cup or the next World Cup,” Tahir said in an interview with Cricwick. 

He further said that he was part of the Proteas squad which was going to play the ICC T20 World Cup, which was due to be hosted last year in Australia but got postponed due to the pandemic. “If I am playing in the PSL, I want to perform well. I haven’t retired as well. I was a member of South Africa’s squad for the World Cup last year, which didn’t happen because of COVID last year. So I was part of the squad which was to play in the World Cup. But now I’m trying to prove myself and perform in the PSL,” Tahir said. 

Tahir further noted that he is really happy to perform well in the PSL because he believes that there will be pressure on the Proteas selectors if he does well. As of now, Tahir has not played in an international match since mid-2019, when he announced his ODI retirement. The South African team has been looking at young talent and giving them more chances.