KARACHI: Pakistan’s pace bowler, Junaid Khan, reportedly says he passed up a few tempting English county offers this summer because he wanted to stay centered on the Champions Trophy to take place in June.
23-year-old Khan reportedly did well in the ODI against India last year and the one in South Africa in 2013, taking 29 Test and 32 one-day wickets to date. He also participated in the Faysal Bank T20 Super Eight this year as part of the Abbottabad Falcons team.
He has previously played for Lancashire in the county championship and believes that kind of experience can be very helpful for a bowler, yet he refused several county offers recently including one from Durham. In a selfless statement quoted by various Pakistani media outlets, the cricketer said this would be a bad time for him to ditch his team as they have a busy international schedule this year, especially the Champions Trophy in England, which they have never won.
Reportedly, the Pakistan Cricket Board advised him to do so too, because they want him to avoid injuries, such as the one he procured on his leg during the South African ODI.
Also, Junaid Khan reveals he is a big fan of Wasim Akram, who played in Pakistan’s national team during its only Cricket World Cup victory ever in 1992. The young Khan is allegedly looking forward to learning from the past cricket star on the latter’s expected visit to the national camp during the Champions Trophy.
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