Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim is relishing the prospect of being a part of the Jamaica Tallawahs squad for the fourth edition of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) this summer and is determined to bring a fearlessness.
The Welsh born 27-year-old left-arm spinner, who spent his formative years in Swansea, was a relatively late bloomer in international cricket terms, but since making his international T20 bow in March 2015 he has now made 11 appearances, including featuring for Pakistan in the recent ICC World T20, and six more in ODI cricket.
He has encouraging averages with both bat and ball, thus justifying his decision to put a promising medical career while he pursues a career in professional cricket, a journey which will continue across the Caribbean and Florida later this month with the Tallawahs, the CPL’s inaugural champions, in Sabina Park.
In an exclusive interview with www.cplt20.com, Imad Wasim said: “My mum and Dad lived in Wales when I was born but I moved then after a few years…it’s nice to be the first Welsh-born Pakistani cricket player. I’m watching the Wales match (EURO 2016 versus England) right now!
“In every international game you play, you learn to adapt to the conditions. I’ve never been to the Caribbean before, so I will learn a lot. When you try to grow and progress, you need these kinds of new things. I’m always a big learner – I want to learn again and again…I want to give back to Pakistan…and always want to be the best. I know that I have to work hard to be the best.
“It’s a great honour for me to be a part of CPL and Jamaica Tallawahs. I saw the CPL last year and there’s a lot of great talent in the West Indies, and the CPL standard is really good, so I’m really looking forward to playing with the Tallawahs.
“There are great players playing in Jamaica (this year), so I will try to learn from them. As a Pakistan player I’m really proud and really happy about being here because it’s a career-defining thing.”
Jamaica Tallawahs Home Fixtures (all times local): 15 July – Guyana Amazon Warriors (8pm), 16 July – St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (6pm), 18 July – Trinbago Knight Riders (8pm), 20 July – Barbados Tridents (8pm).
Jamaica Tallawahs: Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Imad Wasim, Dale Steyn, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Andre McCarthy, Jonathan Foo, Alex Ross, Kesrick Williams, Nkrumah Bonner, Garey Mathurin, Timroy Allen, O’shane Thomas
*Tickets for all CPL fixtures in the Caribbean and Fort Lauderdale are on sale now from www.cplt20.com.
