He may only be 19 years of age, but Azeem Ghumman is a "smart cookie" when it comes to the game of cricket and at times during the Under 19 World Cup, it was difficult to believe that this was indeed a teenager making such bold decisions on a cricket field.

His mastery of the art of captaincy was a sight to behold, as Pakistan defied the odds to reach the Under 19 World Cup final recently in New Zealand. Clever field settings, shrewd bowling changes, a great deal of enthusiasm and a brilliant example in the field. I'm sure there was a lesson or two in Azeem's captaincy for more illustrious and dare I say it, more "senior" captains around the world.

Having already played 17 first class matches and with a healthy batting average of 48.79, Azeem is undoubtedly one for the future. How far into the future that is, depends of course on Azeem himself, his personal development and when the selectors are ready to give him his opportunity.

Beyond the polite and very courteous demeanour, there is a steely determination in Azeem. When he speaks, he speaks about Pakistan and not Azeem himself. You tend to hear the word "We", rather than the word "I" from Azeem's lips, which is refreshing and enouraging.

PakPassion caught up with Azeem today and discussions certainly brought back some happy and unhappy memories for the Sui Southern Gas right hander.

"We should all be proud of our achievments in the Under 19 World Cup and although we didn't win the trophy it was a great experience" stated Azeem.

"I am so proud of all the boys, they showed me a lot of respect and the committment from every one of them was brilliant. There was a real unity in the camp and I feel we were the best team in the World Cup" added Azeem.

Ghumman who did his utmost to conquer the Australian bowling in the final with a battling 41, felt that a short passage of play was the difference between defeat and glory for the Pakistani youngsters. "In seven hours of cricket, we had one bad hour where we lost several wickets and that hurt us a lot and ultimately cost us the match".

Ghumman who has five centuries and 4 half centuries to his name in first class cricket felt that Pakistan's middle order should have performed better in the final. "Throughout the tournament our middle order were very reliable and it was our top order that struggled. However in the final it was our middle order that didn't delilver and it still hurts. We didn't have things easy and our Pool was undoubtedly the toughest with ourselves, West Indies and Bangladesh in there along with Papu New Guinea".

Ghumman felt that the Bangladesh side is definitely one to be earmarked for the future. "They played some great cricket and they were the team that impressed me the most".

Whilst Ghumman was delighted with the whole squad he had special praise for three of his team mates whom he thought were outstanding. "Hammad Azam, Raza Hasan and Usman Qadir were fantastic throughout the tournment. Usman was the bowler who I turned to whenever I needed a wicket. He created pressure and more often than not he delivered for me. Usman also deserves a lot of praise for the improvements he has made on his fielding and he is a very useful lower order batsman".

Whilst it's only been a few days since the World Cup final defeat to the Australians, Ghumman is already preparing himself for the forthcoming RBS Cup one day tournament. "I'll be playing for Sui Southern Gas in the competition and I'm looking forward to it. There will no doubt be some tough cricket and it's all good for my development".

Ghumman's Sui Southern Gas Corporation team is drawn in the tough Group B alongside KRL, National Bank, Habib Bank, Lahore Eagles and the Karachi Zebras. Sui Gas kick off their RBS Cup campaign against Habib Bank on 10th February in Lahore.