18 year-old Hasan Raza is a left-handed middle order batsman from Mirpur who has been a regular for the Pakistan Under-19s. He was top-scorer with 55 when the Pakistan Under 19s defeated England in December last year at a Tri-Nation Tournament in the UAE, and a week later scored a century against Nepal in the Asia Cup, sharing a 166-run second wicket stand with captain Sami Aslam. The next day, he scored 60 in a 113-run third wicket stand to help Pakistan defeat the UAE.
His penchant for playing important knocks has seen him selected for the Pakistan Under-19s team for the upcoming ICC Under-19s World Cup to be contested later this month in the UAE. PakPassion.net: caught up with Raza to discuss how he got into cricket, the recently-concluded Under-19 Asia Cup, his hopes for the ICC Under-19 World Cup and his future aspirations.
Mohammad Ali is a right-arm fast-medium bowler from Sialkot. He has taken 113 wickets in his 29 first-class matches to date, at an impressive average of 24.88. In his 14 List A matches, he has taken 29 wickets at an eye-catching average of 18.79.
He also featured for the State Bank of Pakistan in the recently-concluded Ramadan T20 Cup in Karachi and bagged 5 wickets for just 52 runs in 3 matches.
17 year old Imran Butt is a top order batsman from Lahore who made his first class debut less than three months ago. Since that debut in December he has made over 700 runs in only nine first class matches at an average of over 61 including two centuries and five half centuries.
Butt was also the third highest run scorer in this season’s Quaid E Azam Trophy and his performances in the Quaid E Azam Trophy have brought him to the attention of Pakistani cricket fans around the world.
Speaking with PakPassion.net, Imran explains how his interest in cricket developed, the challenges presented to him in his debut season in first class cricket, his plans for selection in the Pakistan Under 19s and beyond.