Pakistani players practice with 40 young aspiring cricketers in Taunton

TAUNTON: At least 40 aspiring cricketers, aged 6 to 14, from Somerset County Cricket Club got the opportunity of their lifetime on Sunday when they were joined by Pakistan’s World Cup squad for a brief training session.

Pakistani players, including the captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and senior duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, stayed at Cooper Associates County Ground after their world cup training session ahead of the game against Australia to spend time with kids.

International stars encouraged the young kids to express themselves during the 40 mins-long session and guided them on various bascis of the game.

Young batsman Imam ul Haq was seen giving catching practice to the kids and applied same methods on them that were applied on him during his age-group cricket days.

Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed was seen bowling to kids during the session and encouraging them to hit over the fence.

Shaheen Shah Afridi was spotted being kids among kids.

Pakistan’s young spin sensation Shadab Khan said that it was good to be with kids as these type of sessions motivate children to do well in their respective field and gives them the confidence they need.

“I always dreamt of playing along with international stars but I couldn’t get such opportunity back home. So, its good to see this and being with these players as this will surely motivate these kids,” Shadab told Geo.