Renowned Pakistani Umpire spoke to PakPassion.net about how he spotted Saad Nasim as a future prospect for Pakistan.

By Saj Sadiq (5th October, 2014)

One of Pakistan’s most well known sports personalities and an internationally acclaimed cricket Umpire, Aleem Dar has also made his mark in Pakistan club cricket in Lahore as a decent leg-spinner/batsman. Whenever he is off duty from international umpiring, the 46 year old Dar is involved in club cricket duties for P&T Gymkhana. His penchant for amazing judgment is not limited to umpiring decisions alone as over the years, he has spotted and continues to identify some very good young cricketers.

Amongst Aleem Dar’s discoveries are two prominent young names. One of the young cricketers he has recently been helping is the very promising Under 19 leg spinner Karamat Ali who also plays for P&T Gymkhana and was recently named in the Pakistan "A" squad to tour UAE.(Read here for what Karamat said about Aleem Dar http://www.pakpassion.net/the-talent...er-karamat-ali). The other one, and one who has been in recent headlines due to his eye-catching performances at the Champions League T20 Tournament on behalf of the Lahore Lions, is the 24 year old all-rounder Saad Nasim.

Aleem when contacted by PakPassion.net about his talent spotting ability particularly in reference to Saad Nasim who has been named in the Pakistan T20I squad against Australia, recalled when he first saw Saad play. "Yes a few years ago I was playing a club game in Lahore against Saad Nasim and he looked very talented and a great prospect. After watching him bat and bowl I walked up to his father and suggested that he give him his full support as Insha'Allah one day this boy would represent Pakistan. I'm delighted to hear that he was called up for the Pakistan T20I squad against Australia and I believe he has a bright future in cricket."

Karamat Ali and Saad Nasim aren't the only cricketers to have benefitted from Aleem Dar's talent-spotting ability. Another cricketer he has high hopes for is 21 year old Umar Siddiq who represented Lahore Lions recently at the Champions League T20 Tournament. Speaking about Siddiq, Dar stated "Umar is the son of an umpire, the late Siddiq Khan and I also think he's a very talented cricketer and another cricketer who I think will play for Pakistan one day".

Dar’s involvement in talent spotting is not a new experience for him as he also recalled when he first saw Umar Akmal in a club match in Lahore, well before Akmal was playing first class cricket. "I was very impressed with Umar and I passed on some words of advice to him about the fact that he had a lot of ability and he could one day play for Pakistan and become a very famous cricketer if he worked hard."

Given his track record in picking exciting new future talent for Pakistan, it would be beneficial for Pakistan cricket to avail of Dar’s services as soon as possible. A veteran of over 268 international games, Umpire Aleem Dar is not completely averse to this idea of perhaps one day becoming a talent scout for the PCB, cheekily adding "I think as an umpire you have the skill of being able to spot which players can play and do well at the highest level and who knows maybe I could be a good selector?!", he concluded.

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