In his latest blog for Pakpassion.net, Mohammad Zahid talks about his first cricket club, Gagoo Mandi CC, and the importance of supporting clubs in Pakistan's remote villages.

Cricket plays a very important role in the national psyche of Pakistan. It carries the hopes of the downtrodden, allowing dreams of escape to flourish in the minds of children and adults alike. It has provided me with some wonderful opportunities in my life and this realisation has been the driving force behind my desire to give something back to the sport that has given me so much. 

I can see no sporting project more worthy of support than the situation of my first club of Gaggoo Mandi. The facilities haven't changed much from the time I played there as a youngster many years ago. We could continue to wait for the PCB to act, but if such support hasn't materialised after all of the international quality players that have originated from this small club, then it's unlikely to ever arrive - Waqar Younis, Naveed Yasin, Mohammad Irfan and myself all have all played for Gaggoo Mandi. 

The conditions at Gaggoo Mandi Cricket Club are grim, and the club continues to survive based on the goodwill of locals and the passion of the 250 or so surrounding cricket-mad villages. This is the only cricket club in the area and and the sole source of recreation for the children of villages. I have just returned from my visit to Gaggoo Mandi and found kids playing cricket with no shoes, feet bleeding after a long days on the cricket field. They have no kit, no shoes and no nets, just a pitch. There are poles in the ground, but have no nets attached as the club cannot afford to buy them. The clubhouse, which is a rather generous term for the ramshackle room, is not secure and as a result any kit that the club manages to piece together is stolen. Having spoken to the coach Naveed Yasin, he has identified basic cricket equipment as the most important requirement for the club. For young talent to flourish and be nurtured, a club and coach require bats, balls, pads, stumps and other such equipment and this is where I believe we all can help, through donations and raising the profile of these small clubs littered throughout Pakistan which are hotbeds of talent.

Gagoo Mandi is also one of the hottest parts of Pakistan, with temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees Celsius. Now imagine the nearest water supply is over a mile away. To avoid disruption of the matches, the kids have to take turns, one at a time, to go for water. The youth who play for Gagoo Mandi are known to the locals as 'warriors' and for their passion to play for Pakistan, and the sacrifice they are willing to make to make to achieve that goal, is second to none.

What the club lacks in facilities, it makes up for in the concentration of raw talent in it's purest form. From my recent visit to the ground, I was able to identify at least two or three players who are knocking on the door of the Pakistani test team. The most impressive is Zia-ul-Haq. Many will remember him as the quick bowler who, while representing Lahore Lions, took five wickets against Faisalabad Wolves in the recently concluded Faysal Bank Super-8s tournament held in Rawalpindi. Julien Fountain and Dav Whatmore watched him perform in person and have both been positive in their assessments. Imran is only 18 but has been clocked at 145kph. He also has a strong endorsement from coach Nadeem, who believes he'll be the next big thing. I personally believe he will be selected for Pakistan in the next series Pakistan are involved in. 

Navid Yasin is also one to look out for, as is Irfan Patiala. Another name to remember further down the line is left-arm spinner Sharjeel Javed, who is the nephew of the Gagoo Mandi coach Nadeem Iqbal – he will be a top player one day. My 14 year-old nephew who plays for them is also a good prospect!

It's an age-old ailment, but Pakistani cricket needs to improve the support for the more remote regions in the country. We have academies in Karachi where privileged children arrive with their parents, who pay around 50,000 rupees to enrol their child, even though Karachi already has lots of academies. Lahore has the National Academy, but where are the academies in Baluchistan? Areas like this are just as much part of Pakistan as the Punjab or Sindh. Small clubs draw inspiration from Imran Khan, who was someone who took nothing from cricket but gave everything. He discovered young players from cricket clubs in based in remote villages like Gaggoo Mandi. Imran Khan plucked the likes of Mushtaq Ahmed, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, Inzamam ul-Haq from these villages and it's no coincidence the reduction in focus and scouting in these areas has resulted in Pakistan no longer discovering such raw talent – it is out there and the Gaggoo Mandi appeal is something that can make a real difference, both at a local level and given the concentration of potential in one area, at international level too. 

I was fortunate in that I was able to leave Gaggoo Mandi and for three years I played for the Sarwal Montgomery Academy at U-15 level. They accommodated me as they did Waqar, and had better facilities, but even that club was 50 miles away and has subsequently closed down. This serves to further emphasise the importance of keeping Gaggoo Mandi Cricket Club alive – there are no other viable options available to these villages. 

My aim is to arrange charity matches in England with Pakistani players, which I hope will fund a bowling machine and pitch roller, with hopefully Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar and hope to have a number of sponsors on board. Coach Nadeem and his support is also working very hard, with the potential to organise matches through the establishment of a Pakistan Youth Cricket league. Our friends at PakPassion.net have also launched an appeal to help in this cause which is commendable.


I'm a firm believer in the saying “no passion, no achievement”. Nowhere is this term more applicable than at Gaggoo Mandi – the passion is present. They just need a helping hand and with this, I'm sure we will see many more players from this club realising their true potential and going on to play for the Pakistan national side.

Discuss!