'Without further delay, Amad Butt should be given a chance to play for Pakistan,' says Ijaz Ahmed

The Asian Cricket Council Emerging U23 Cup was recently where Pakistan swatted side Bangladesh U23 in the finale of the tournament to lay claim to the coveted trophy. In the marquee encounter, wicketkeeper Rohail Nazir scored a 111-ball 113 as the Men in Green posted an eventual match-winning total of 6-301 after 50 overs. The target was never going to be overhauled against an incisive Pakistan bowling unit and Bangladesh was eventually bundled out for 224 in 43.3 overs.

Apart from the result, these tournaments are all about scouting the stars of the future. And, coach Ijaz Ahmed has already zeroed in on a few names that can represent the senior side in the future. Ahmed is particularly impressed with all-rounder Amad Bhatt, who he thinks should get a chance to play for Pakistan in the immediate future.

Pakistan has been struggling for a quality all-rounder for some time now, and Butt, according to Ijaz Ahmed can solve that problem as he is deadly in the last ten overs with the bat and is useful with the ball. Butt scored 79 runs and took four wickets in the tournament, but it was his strike-rate- 123.43- that stood out.

“Amad Butt is also good and without further delay, we should give him a chance to play for Pakistan. He is deadly in the last 10 overs as he can do sensible hitting in those overs, and it was my wish to make a statement that he should be given a chance to play in the Pakistan team” Ahmed said as quoted by PakPassion.Net.

Ijaz Ahmed impressed with the likes of Rohail Nazir, Haider Ali and Imran Rafiq

Apart from Butt, Ahmed is also impressed with the likes of Haider Ali and Rohail Nazir. The duo, who racked up 218 runs at 43.60 and 302 runs at 75.50 respectively, were the sole two batsmen to score a hundred in the tournament. Ahmed also went on to talk about Imran Rafiq and opener Omair, who too impressed in the tournament, having scored 151 and 112 runs respectively.

“I had requested the junior selection committee to include Haider Ali and Rohail Nazir in the Emerging Team. So, they were put in the side and we only had 2 hundred during this tournament, one was from Haider Ali and the other one was a timely one from Rohail in the final, which was a fine inning given the situation of the match.”

“It’s not just Rohail and Haider, but I also liked how Imran Rafiq played as did the opener Omair. The main aim for us is to see if these players have the potential which they do, also we already know how good Saud Shakeel is as he has toured with me before” Ahmed said.

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