In his latest blog entry, Mohammed Zahid praises the 32 year old Aizaz Cheema and talks about his background and future prospects. In his latest blog entry on PakPassion.net, Mohammed Zahid discusses the 32 year old Pakistani pacer Aizaz Cheema, praising his hard work and skills talks about his background and future prospects.

November 21, 2011

There's been a lot of talk about Aizaz Cheema since he made his debut for Pakistan in Zimbabwe a couple of months ago, and rightfully so. He's taken to international cricket like a duck to water, no doubt utilising the considerable experience he's built up doing the hard yards in domestic cricket. 

I first met Aizaz eight or nine years ago when he first came to a training camp held at the PIA Academy, and he stood out even at that time, being identified as a young player of great promise. I fully expected him to go on and play for Pakistan very soon after that camp, but as we've subsequently noted, he's had to wait quite a while. Despite the wait, he is performing and I'm very happy to see him doing well for Pakistan. 

I remember being very impressed by Aizaz when first seeing him at the PIA Academy, as he was very quick, hitting speeds of 149km/h which is 92-93mph. The only potential negative identified was his lack of height - we wasn't very tall. Despite this, we all thought if he continued to put in the effort, this international call-up wouldn't be too far away, but for some reason he wasn't picked. In my opinion, he should have been selected for Pakistan a long time ago. If he'd been selected at the age of 23, I'm in no doubt Aizaz Cheema would have taken over 250 test wickets by now. 

If he remains focused, we could see him touching those speeds again. I always told him to work hard, and I suppose if there was one issue I had with him, it was that he would sometimes shy away and be a little lazy. 

It was his uncle, who set up the Academy, who provided him with the reference to attend the training camp - it's rare in Pakistani cricket for a player to have the opportunity to attend without some sort of reference. However, despite the references, Aizaz himself was the one with the talent and the top bowlers tend to rise to the top. It should also be noted he'd put in a lot of effort prior to attendance of the Academy, as he was 22-23 years of age by then. 

He was a really great team-mate to have around too, having very very high morals, coming from a very good background and also being very well-educated. Aizaz was always enjoyable company, being a very level-headed youngster, the type of which are few and far between in Pakistan! It is this attitude which no doubt helped to maintain his faith in his ability despite being overlooked for so long - in particular in the last two to three years, he has worked very hard to become one of the leading wicket takers in domestic cricket. 

Despite his age, his fitness levels look fantastic. I firmly believe and it's been proven, you have to work twice as hard compared to your younger days. If he is properly managed, given his fitness levels, he can continue to play for International cricket for five more years. 

I'm sure he'll give us all a lot of enjoyment if he does.