APL has helped unearth fresh talent, feels Nabi
dubai — Balkh Legends captain Mohammad Nabi said that the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) has been a blessing for the country as it helped unearth fresh new talent who could make it to the National team.
The Balkh Legends emerged as the first champions of the APL when they beat Kabul Zwanan in the final at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium late on Sunday night. And Nabi said that there were a lot of positives which will help Afghanistan cricket in the long-term.
“There was a lot to learn from the APL, especially the young players,” said Nabi.
They had watched Chris Gayle on TV but now they were sharing a dressing room with him as well as playing with him. It was a great
learning experience for the youngsters about motivation and pressure and I’m sure that these youngsters will be more confident when the APL happens next year,” he added.
Nabi picked out of a few who had impressed him over the course of the tournament like leg-spinner Qais Ahmed, batsman Darwish Rasooli and pacer Zia-ur-Rahman.
“This will be of big help when the World Cup squad is chosen. Through the APL, a lot of youngsters came into the spotlight like Qais Ahmed, Darwish Rasooli and Zia-ur-Rahman, There were also
some other good batsmen. Our selectors were here and watched these performances and so did our head coach. These youngsters have caught the eye of the selectors as well as the coach,” observed Nabi.
Meanwhile, Zwanan coach former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak too echoed Nabi and said that the APL has created a pool of players who could knock on the doors of the National team.
“I’ve been very impressed. We have got to see more very good young and talented players, obviously (Hazratullah) Zazai has been for us. I’ve been impressed with guys like Qais Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rahman, lot of upcoming talent for Afghanistan. And it is good to see because you need some players below the national team putting a lot of pressure on them. The standard of cricket has improved during the tournament. You’ve seen young players playing alongside the more experienced international players and they have really started to raise the bar,” said Streak.
Streak was also spoke in glowing terms about Rashid Khan, who led the side.
“Rashid has got so much of energy and he’s always leading by example. So, it is really good to have someone like that who is just a good example to the young boys. He doesn’t even worry about injuring himself, he goes for all the catches, he dives. He’s a really good example,” felt Streak.