Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net Pakistan, KRL and Sussex all rounder Yasir Arafat stated that he was really looking forward to playing for Sussex in the Champions League in October.

Yasir who is part of a 20 man squad named by Sussex which includes Piyush Chawla and Dwayne Smith, stated “It should be a fantastic tournament and I’m really looking forward to it. We are in Group B and will play New South Wales and the Eagles from South Africa and I’m hopeful that we’ll do well and finish in the top 2 and qualify for the next stage”.

Yasir suffered heartbreak during the Twenty/20 World Cup tournament earlier this year and as he recovered from a hamstring tear, his compatriots performed heroics and from looking like a team that were struggling to make it to the second stage, managed to turn things around and win the tournament.

Yasir added “I was really pleased for my team mates and for the people of my country. It was a great team effort and I was very proud of them all. My hamstring tear was a bad injury and just one of those things that was out of my control. It was a 9 millimetre tear and whilst the PCB asked me if I wanted to return to Pakistan for treatment, I opted to go back to Sussex and let the medical team there work on the injury and then continue with the County season. Injuries of course are part and parcel of the game, but the hamstring tear came at such a bad time for me”.

Yasir continued "I'm really enjoying it this season at Sussex, we have been doing really well and of course the Twenty/20 Cup victory at Birmingham was fantastic. Twenty/20 finals day was a great experience and winning the Trophy was such a boost for the whole squad".

When asked if the selectors had contacted him about his omission from the Pakistan Champions Trophy Squad announced a few days ago by Iqbal Qasim and his selection panel, Yasir said "none of the selectors contacted me, but it was great of Younis Khan to give me a call while he was in the UK. Despite Younis' hectic schedule on his fund raising tour he told me to keep my chin up, not to feel too down about not being selected and to continue to work hard at my cricket and see what opportunities arise in future".

Yasir continued "Its disappointing to miss out on selection for the Champions Trophy next month in South Africa, but I'm keen to work hard and impress the selectors. Its an important domestic season ahead for a lot of players including myself and my intentions are to remain fully fit and in good form for KRL so that the selectors take note of my performances".