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Junaid Khan sees traits of captain in Mahmudullah

5 || risingbd.com

Published: 05:34, 27 November 2017   Update: 15:18, 26 July 2020
Junaid Khan sees traits of captain in Mahmudullah

Mohammad Junaid Khan is the first cricketer from Swabi, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to represent Pakistan in international cricket. Among a huge pool of developing fast bowlers, Junaid has been pipped as one of the best. He is the first player from Swabi to qualify for the Pakistan national cricket team and his cousin, the leg-spinner Yasir Shah, followed his path later on.

Junaid made his first-class debut on 24 January 2007 at the age of 17. Playing for Abbottabad against Multan, his first wicket was that of Majid Majeed. The match ended in a draw and Junaid finished with four wickets for 57 runs (4/57). For four years he took wickets consistently for his domestic team Abottabad and he was the team's chief strike bowler, he also played for Abbottabad Falcons in the Faysal Bank Twenty20.

In the 2008/09 season, Junaid represented the Khan Research Laboratories cricket team and played for them in the final of the 2008/09 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy; he took a single wicket in the match as his team lost to Sialkot. Junaid also played for Pakistan A. In the unofficial Test series between Pakistan A and Sri Lanka A in 2010, Junaid was his team's leading wicket-taker with ten from two matches.

Born on 24 December 1989 in Matra, North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, Junaid, who bowls left arm fast, drew the attention of the cricket world. After an injury to Sohail Tanvir on the eve of the 2011 World Cup, Junaid was called up as his replacement with no experience in international cricket.

Junaid did not play in the tournament, and later made his ODI debut in April 2011. In June that year he represented Lancashire County Cricket Club in English domestic cricket.

This cricketer is currently in Bangladesh for playing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He is playing for Khulna Titans. Junaid yesterday faced an interview of Yeasin Hasan, sports correspondent of online news portal risingbd.com. The magical parts of the long time interview are discussed below.

risingbd: KT are doing well. How are you enjoying BPL?

Junaid Khan: I am enjoying BPL very much in last year and also this year. Because whenever I come to Bangladesh I feel like I am in Pakistan.

risingbd: How you rate MJ as coach as this is the first time you are working with him?

Junaid Khan: Yes, this is the first time I am playing under Jayawardane’s coaching. He is a legend of the game. The way he shares his experience and knowledge about the game, not only with me but also with all the players, is great. I am learning many things with him and I hope it will help me as a player in future.



risingbd: 20 wickets last year in BPL. This year you came a bit late. Any goal in this year?

Junaid Khan: Well, my goal is simple. I always plan match by match. I always try to help my team in winning. May be its one wicket or may be not. But my target is to help my team which can contribute to match-win.

risingbd: Khulna top of BPL points table. Happy ?

Junaid Khan: Obviously. As a team our target is to become champion. We are happy that we are top at the moment, but still it is long way to go in the tournament. We will be satisfied when we will win the championship for Khulna.

risingbd: First cricket form Khyber who represented Pakistan in int’l arena. How young cricketers group up in Khyber as a player?

Junaid Khan: I came from a village. There was not much cricket at that time. There was no cricket ground near in my village. I had to go far for cricket. And my family always emphasizes to education. So it was tough for me to continue cricket at the same time. My father and my cousins gave me a lot of support. I worked really hard. And as a Muslim, I believe if you do hard work with honest dedication then you will get reward.

Then later in my career I have planned to establish a cricket academy in my village considering my struggle during my early career.  The finally I started the academy in 2012 in Dagi, Swabi. It’s free of cost for young crickets. There are 50-60 players practicing there now. 3-4 players from that academy are playing domestic cricket in Pakistan for Abbottabad region. 2-3 young players also have played in under 19 level for Pakistan. Now my target is to join the adjacent areas for the cricket academy so that more young players like 100-120 players can practice in the academy and prepare themselves for cricket.



risingbd: Why you became a fast bowler?

Junaid Khan: Actually whether becoming bowler or batsman, it comes naturally. Beside that, for myself, I had to travel far by motorbike for practice. It was hard for me to carry the kit bag while riding motorbike. So to make my long journey more comfortable, I carried shoes and trousers in a small bag and it might be one of reason why I chose to become a fast bowler rather than batsman.

risingbd: Who bought you the first cricket ball?

Junaid Khan: We used to play with tape tennis ball. In that time we bought those tapes and balls. And about cricket ball, I bought it for myself and my father gave me the money.

risingbd: Any idle in your childhood?

Junaid Khan: If you consider lifestyle, then my idle was Imran Khan. And my bowling idle is Wasim Akram. He is a legend. I am also a left handed fast bowler so I followed him a lot. And now I am very lucky that I will work under him in Multan Sultans. So let’s see what happens.



risingbd: Played county cricket for Lancashire. How county cricket improved your performance and skill development?

Junaid Khan: It helped me a lot. Like in BPL also, I always try to play in one team. Like people said, if stone is placed in a fixed place only then it can be considered as stone rather than moving it constantly. So I tried to play in one team. I have played 4-5 years in Lancashire. I am a local player now there. The experience is great there. First time when I went there, I had worked under Peter Moores. I have learned a lot of things from him.

risingbd: How life changed after winning champions trophy?

Junaid Khan: Life has not changed that much. But the Pakistan cricket has changed. There was no cricket in Pakistan and we slide to number seven-eight in ICC ranking so people and fans got down. But after winning champions trophy we climbed to number five-six in ICC ranking and fans also seeing hope.



risingbd: Did you think that Bangladesh could come to play in final against you in Champions Trophy final?

Junaid Khan: Of course, Bangladesh have improved a lot. People might thought ‘series against Bangladesh is easy’ at one time.  But that time has changed. They have beaten England in Test and ODI in home, They also have beaten whitewashed Pakistan and beaten India in ODI series. So they improved a lot. May be BPL was one of reason as many youngster have come through this kind of tournament. So yes we expected that Bangladesh can win the second semifinal against India. But anyway, Bangladesh lost in the end and it’s a part of game.

risingbd: Amir returned to the international cricket. It creates more competition to claim the spot in Pakistan national team. What’s your thought on that?

Junaid Khan: I believe if you are performing well enough, then you will be in any team. For example, I am out of the Test squad now. So the thing is I did not performed well enough in the Test cricket and that’s why I left out of the team. I also dropped form the ODI squad. Then I work hard and performed well then I have returned to the ODI squad. This is for me, for Amir and for all players.

And another thing is, when a team have strong bench, then it’s a positive thing. And for players, strong bench mean you will work hard in the practice and training to get chance. In the end it will help you to become better player.

risingbd: How you rate Mahmudullah’s captaincy in BPL?

Junaid Khan: He is a great captain. I have seen cool minded captain like MS Dhony or Misbah ul Haque. They are always cool and calm in the field and they never shout players in the field. Mahmudullah is similar to that. He also respects the seniors and take advice often if needed. Whenever unwanted things happened like catch dropped or misfielding or batsman getting out by playing lose shots or something like that,  Mahmudullah never reacts angrily. He handles the situation calmly.

risingbd: Do you see Mahmudullah as a future captain of Bangladesh cricket?

Junaid Khan: Of course. He is a good option considering the way he captains Khulna Titans and perform consistently and he has also performed very wwll in ICC events as well. After Masshrafe Mortaza, there are senior players like Mahmudullah, Shakib and Tamim. But among these three I will vote Mahmudullah as captain.



risingbd: How you want to see yourself after five years?

Junaid Khan: Five years is too long. Specially as a fast bowler. As I said I always planned match by match. Now I am playing I BPL. Then I will play in T10 Then there will be series against New Zealand. So these things are in my mind at the moment.

risingbd: Do you think Pakistan have a great chance to win the 2019 WC?

Junaid Khan: It's too early to call. Every team, whether number one or number eight, has a dream to win next World Cup. So as usual Pakistan also have target. Our coach Micki Arther is trying to build a stable team. When a team played one-two years of cricket constantly together then they can become a strong unit and can bring success.

risingbd: Thank you.

Junaid Khan: Thank you too.

risingbd/Dhaka/Nov 27, 2017/Yeasin/AI

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