Rana Naved launches cricket academy for poor to promote local talent

Karachi, Jun 16 (ANI): To promote homegrown talent suffering from financial constraints, Pakistani pacer Rana Naved ul Hasan has launched a cricket academy in his home city of Sheikhupura to realise his dream of many years.

Rana Naved has played domestic cricket in Pakistan since 1995 and knows the system inside out and is aware of the difficulties upcoming cricketers face in Pakistan.

He said that in some scenarios if one does not have the financial backing or the contacts then there is little chance of making it into any of the academies, local cricket clubs or first class teams.

"The situation of boys being invited to and given places in an academy based on contacts and wealth was one that I wanted to address," Rana told PakPassion.net

He added: "It happens too often that a boy from a wealthy family will get selected for a place at an academy ahead of a boy who is a better cricketer but comes from a poor family. I've been there, I know the system, I know what difficulties I faced and I know what sacrifices my family had to make for me to get into cricket.

"I want all of the cricketing talent of Sheikhupura to be given a chance at my academy, irrespective of which family they are from and how wealthy they are. My academy is open to all those boys who want to learn the game and improve their cricket and then go on to hopefully play first class cricket and above."

Rana is back for another season in English County cricket this year for Derbyshire, having previously featured in England for Sussex and Yorkshire.

His international career has spanned seven years and he last played for Pakistan in February 2010. (ANI)