Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Wednesday that former players Daren Sammy, Javed Miandad, Shahid Afridi, and Shoaib Malik will serve as coaches for the first Pakistan Junior League, which will be held in Lahore in October of this year. The league mentor will be Miandad, who competed in six World Cups between 1975 and 1996, while the team mentors will be Afridi, Sammy, and Shoaib. The four legends each have a combined total of six major world championships, 1,559 international games, 43,057 runs, and 992 wickets. At Gaddafi Stadium in 2017, Sammy and Shahid were colleagues on the Peshawar Zalmi side that won the Pakistan Super League. Miandad will act as the tournament’s general mentor, supporting the mentors of the six teams and the players.
After the Pakistan vs. England T20I, which is scheduled to end on October 2, Afridi, Sammy, and Shoaib will be in the team dugouts before and throughout the Pakistan Junior League. The four well-known celebrities will advise teams in addition to acting as event ambassadors, spreading the word about this groundbreaking event through their expertise, attractiveness, and influence. Soon, three other team mentors will be appointed.
“I am glad that we have been able to attract Javed Miandad, Daren Sammy, Shahid Afridi, and Shoaib Malik as mentors for the Pakistan Junior League,” PCB chairman Ramiz Raja stated. Their participation in the Pakistan Junior League will help us fulfil one of our event objectives, which is to assist future generations of cricketers in developing a competitive and match-winning approach and mindset. The participation of the four titans also underlines that we are on pace to provide a fantastic event that will benefit Pakistan cricket in multiple ways. We are devoted to generating new properties, in addition to establishing a winning environment and strengthening the abilities and temperament of the teens, and the Pakistan Junior League is an event in that direction.”
