Sopore cricketer joins selection trials for IPL franchise

Fast bowler Aamir Feroze Mir during a practice session in Pune. -Excelsior/Aabid Nabi
Fast bowler Aamir Feroze Mir during a practice session in Pune. -Excelsior/Aabid Nabi

Irfan Tramboo

SRINAGAR, Mar 5: It has happened again, a young cricketer from North Kashmir’s Sopore has participated in the selection trials for the India Premier League (IPL) franchise ‘Lucknow Super Giants’ held in Ghaziabad.
Aamir Feroze Mir, 22, from the Janwara area of Sopore is a bowler, who clocks 135 kmph, currently studying Data Science at a University in Pune, made it to the selection trials for ‘Lucknow Super Giants’ through the All India University-level cricket tournament.
“Out of that tournament, some of the players, including me, were selected for trials and were sent to Rajasthan; there the trials were held and those selected were further sent to Lucknow for assessment of their capabilities and cricketing skills,” he told Excelsior.
In Lucknow, Aamir said, he went through the speed test and from there, he, along with those selected, was then sent to Ghaziabad where the final selection trials were held.
While he was not selected at the final stage, he, however, believes that the opportunity provided to him, and the level he reached, would open up a wide range of opportunities, which, he said, will further help him in excelling in the game of cricket.
In Pune, Aamir has been playing with a prime cricket academy named ‘Deccan Gymkhana’ as a net bowler for Indian star Cricketer Rahul Tripathi, where, he said, he got to hone and shape up his bowling skills.
“I have been playing cricket for a long time now, but professionally, I have been playing for the last 2-3 years, since the day I joined the University in Pune and got a chance to play and display my skills,” he said.
Concerning the chances for his selection by the ‘Lucknow Super Giants’, he said that it will depend on their requirements of what they are looking for. “I watched the bowlers there whose speed were more than I had, but the selection would solely depend on what the franchise is looking for,” he said.
While he said that he will continue to pursue the game with more passion and dedication, Aamir underlined that his achievement, so far, proves the fact that his efforts have not gone waste and that he has got the capabilities to reach a bigger platform to present his skills in the game. “Participating in trials is itself an achievement, it must push me to do more and fair better next time,” he said.
In his message to youth who are busy with cricket and want to pursue the game professionally, Aamir said that consistency remains the key in every sphere of life. “Those who play the game, and want to excel further, must continue what they are doing and show perseverance. That’s it,” he said.
Notably, there are already several cricketers from J&K who have made their entry into the IPL with the latest addition being Jasia Akhtar who was taken in by the ‘Delhi Capitals’ for the maiden edition of the Women’s Premier League.