Former Multan and UBL pace bowler Nadeem Iqbal called on promising fast bowler Rahat Ali to step up his workload if he wants to succeed at the highest level of cricket.

By Saj Sadiq (1st April 2012)

 

Former Multan and UBL pace bowler Nadeem Iqbal called on promising fast bowler Rahat Ali to step up his workload if he wants to succeed at the highest level of cricket.

Nadeem a pace bowler of repute during his hey day and now the head coach at Gaggu Mandi cricket club, spoke with PakPassion.net about Rahat and he had some stern words of advice for the 23 year old pace bowler from Multan

"Rahat has all the right ingredients. He is a very good bowler, he has a lot of skill and he can achieve a lot in cricket if he wants to. We do however see time and again promising young cricketers who show a lot of promise but then do not go on and achieve great things. Sometimes these promising youngsters with potential even disappear from the scene and you are left wondering where things went wrong."

Iqbal added "I think Rahat can achieve great things in cricket, but he needs to step up the workload and ensure that he takes his cricket very seriously. He needs to be prepared to work very hard and to make sure that he is fully committed. I know myself that your cricket career can pass you by very quickly if you are not careful and then you are just left to think about what could have been. I don't want Rahat to look back in a few years time and think that he did not achieve what he could have."

Rahat was on the standby list for the recently concluded Asia Cup and is regarded as a fine pace prospect. Another left arm pace bowler, Rahat has impressed many opponents including Yasir Hameed who recently told PakPassion.net that he felt that Rahat could go on and play regularly for Pakistan. He has taken 107 wickets in 27 first class matches for KRL at an average of under 20 apiece.

Whilst Iqbal feels that Rahat is ready to take over from Wahab Riaz in the international team he added his concerns about Rahat's injury record.

"Injuries are part and parcel of the game especially when you are a fast bowler, but sometimes they can be avoided. I'm concerned that Rahat has already missed matches through injury and I would urge him to take his training more seriously and to work harder on his fitness. He can become a regular in the Pakistan line up and in fact I would select him over Wahab Riaz at the moment. Rahat can become a great bowler for Pakistan if he increases his training and steps up his work away from actual matches."