Arish Wants To Be The Best Spinner, Says Amir's 2016 Spell Inspired Him

Left-arm spinner Arish Ali Khan wants to become the best spinner in the world saying Mohammad Amir's spell at the 2016 Asia Cup Twenty20 against India inspired him to pursue cricket

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jan, 2020 ) :Left-arm spinner Arish Ali Khan wants to become the best spinner in the world saying Mohammad Amir's spell at the 2016 Asia Cup Twenty20 against India inspired him to pursue cricket.

Arish who has been selected in the Pakistan squad for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020, was not in the starting line-up on Sunday, but is likely to feature at some stage in the World Cup, said a press release issued here on Tuesday.

On his early days and cricketing ambition, Arish said he still remember Amir's devastating new-ball spell against India in the Asia Cup T20 2016 in which he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Suresh Raina. "That spell inspired me to pursue cricket seriously. Representing Pakistan U16 and that too as captain against Australia was a dream come true moment for me." "I want to become the best spinner in the world, at present my and the team's focus is on the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup. Our coach Ijaz Ahmed and spin bowling consultant Mushtaq Ahmed have worked hard with us and given us important advice," he said.

Pakistan would take on Zimbabwe at the Witrand Oval, Potchefstroom on Wednesday. Pakistan have featured in all the 13 ICC U19 World Cups to date and have always qualified for the Super League phase.

In 11 events to date, they have finished fifth or better, while appearing in five finals and the only time they ended up outside the top-five was in 1998 and 2012 when they achieved seventh and eighth positions, respectively.

Middle-order batsman Mohammad Haris did not get a chance to show his mettle on Sunday but looks forward to contributing in the team's success in future matches.

Haris said U19 World Cup provides a big platform for young players to graduate to the senior level and represent their country.

"The entire Pakistan squad is focused on delivering the goods in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup." He said Jos Butler was his favourite player and he wants to play like him in themiddle-order.

"I first started playing when I was nine. My professional cricket journey began at 15 in Peshawar when I started playing club cricket," he said.