The life of Muhammad Imran the next upcoming Shoaib Akhtar reads like a modern-day fairytale and was built for sharing on social media.
When he was 18, he uprooted from his home in the village of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in pursuit of a career in cricket. Now 29 years old, he was selected for the Oman national camp after a video of him fixing CCTV cameras went popular online.
Imran, then 18, mysteriously left his village in the Dera Ismail Khan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province one December night in 2012 and rode a vehicle for around 1,000 kilometres to Karachi. The trip was planned so that a trial could be presented. His father had intended him to join the Pakistan Army rather than pursue cricket, but he couldn’t afford to tell anyone that.
The striking resemblance between his bowling movement and that of former Pakistan fast Shoaib Akhtar has caused one of his videos to go viral on social media more than a decade later.
From his hairstyle to his gait to his bowling mark, his run-up, his load, and his celebration, Imran is an exact replica of the Rawalpindi Express.
“Shaib bhai was on when I was a kid. Everyone in my community would try to emulate his running and bowling style, but I was the only one who could master it, Imran told The Indian Express.
A portion of my family’s farmland borders Afghanistan. With the tape ball in hand, I set out to bowl. Someone at a Dera Ismail Khan tournament in 2010 told him, “You bowl just like Shoaib Akhtar.”
To avoid his father’s wrath, Imran took a physical aptitude test for the Pakistan army and was accepted a few years after finishing intermediate school.
On the day his family celebrated his new job, he fled. “Jis din ghar mey dawaat thi, mai usi raat bhaag gaya,” he recalled.
My dad really pushed for me to enlist. To put it simply, I yearned to play cricket. As a result, I left my hometown. When I left for Karachi, I didn’t wake anyone up.
Three days later, Imran, with little money but the support of a friendly truck driver, arrived in Karachi and proceeded to the KDA Cricket Ground, just as Mohammad Naeem, a former first-class cricketer who played for FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), had ordered him to do.
They wanted me to participate in the trials the following day. Can I provide the trial right now? I asked the bhaijaan, “bhaijaan mai ghar se bhaag ke aaya hun, mere pass rukne ko bhi koi jagah nahi hai.” They wouldn’t let me sleep there, but they let me sleep on the ground,” he added.
That first evening in Karachi is etched in my memory forever. I was uncomfortable in the cold and had no desire to stay awake all night. It was the longest night I’ve ever spent awake.
I played six games and took 21 wickets. Against the academy of Rashid Latif, I took four wickets. Pakistan Super League roster additions include Ehsan Ali, Saad Ali, and Faraz Ali. “With my first spell, I was able to eliminate all three of them,” Imran said.
Ufone, the largest Pakistani GSM carrier, scouted fast bowlers across the country in 2013 with the help of cricket great Wasim Akram.
In all of Pakistan, I had the second-fastest speed reading at 143 kph. The future promised to be different for me. The media made a lot of exaggerated claims. Wasim Akram praised me and said I had the potential to bowl even faster. However, “you know the politics in Pakistan cricket, if you don’t know people in the system, you can’t go further,” Imran claimed.
“I got to play cricket at the U-23 and U-25 levels, but never at the first-class level.”
Imran was noticed by former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed during a 2017 tryout with PSL team Lahore Qalandars.
He sprinted over after the first delivery I made and exclaimed, “Aapki bowling mey jaan hai!” Quick thinking, you are. “One of the Lahore Qalandars assistant coaches took my number and called to check up on me, but I never got the call,” he added.
A T20 franchise in Oman contacted him when a buddy uploaded a video of him bowling to YouTube in 2019.•
From his hairstyle to his gait to his bowling mark, his run-up, his load, and his celebration, Imran is an exact replica of the Rawalpindi Express.
Imran, then 18, mysteriously left his village in the Dera Ismail Khan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province one December night in 2012 and rode a vehicle for around 1,000 kilometres to Karachi. The trip was planned so that a trial could be presented. His father had intended him to join the Pakistan Army rather than pursue cricket, but he couldn’t afford to tell anyone that.
The striking resemblance between his bowling movement and that of former Pakistan fast Shoaib Akhtar has caused one of his videos to go viral on social media more than a decade later.
Also read | Check out the bowling of Oman’s Muhammad Imran, who looks a lot like Shoaib Akhtar
From his hairstyle to his gait to his bowling mark, his run-up, his load, and his celebration, Imran is an exact replica of the Rawalpindi Express.
“Shaib bhai was on when I was a kid. Everyone in my community would try to emulate his running and bowling style, but I was the only one who could master it, Imran told The Indian Express.
A portion of my family’s farmland borders Afghanistan. With the tape ball in hand, I set out to bowl. Someone at a Dera Ismail Khan tournament in 2010 told him, “You bowl just like Shoaib Akhtar.”
To avoid his father’s wrath, Imran took a physical aptitude test for the Pakistan army and was accepted a few years after finishing intermediate school.
On the day his family celebrated his new job, he fled. “Jis din ghar mey dawaat thi, mai usi raat bhaag gaya,” he recalled.
My dad really pushed for me to enlist. To put it simply, I yearned to play cricket. As a result, I left my hometown. When I left for Karachi, I didn’t wake anyone up.
After three days of travelling with little money but the support of a generous truck driver, Imran finally made it to Karachi. He then followed the instructions of Mohammad Naeem, a former first-class cricketer who played for FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas).
A T20 franchise in Oman contacted him when a buddy uploaded a video of him bowling to YouTube in 2019.
They told me to show up the following day for the trials. Can I provide the trial right now? I asked the bhaijaan, “bhaijaan mai ghar se bhaag ke aaya hun, mere pass rukne ko bhi koi jagah nahi hai.” They wouldn’t let me sleep there, but they let me sleep on the ground,” he added.
That first evening in Karachi is etched in my memory forever. I was uncomfortable in the cold and had no desire to stay awake all night. It was the longest night I’ve ever spent awake. a few months, he had made the Karachi U-19s team.
I played six games and took 21 wickets. Against the academy of Rashid Latif, I took four wickets. Pakistan Super League roster additions include Ehsan Ali, Saad Ali, and Faraz Ali. “With my first spell, I was able to eliminate all three of them,” Imran said.
Ufone, the largest Pakistani GSM carrier, scouted fast bowlers across the country in 2013 with the help of cricket great Wasim Akram.
In all of Pakistan, I had the second-fastest speed reading at 143 kph. The future promised to be different for me. The media made a lot of exaggerated claims. Wasim Akram praised me and said I had the potential to bowl even faster. However, “you know the politics in Pakistan cricket, if you don’t know people in the system, you can’t go further,” Imran claimed.
“Shoaib Akhtar bhai was on when I was a kid. Everyone in my community would try to emulate his running and bowling style, but I was the only one who could master it, Imran told The Indian Express.
“I got to play cricket at the U-23 and U-25 levels, but never at the first-class level.”
Imran was noticed by former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed during a 2017 tryout with PSL team Lahore Qalandars.
He sprinted over after the first delivery I made and exclaimed, “Aapki bowling mey jaan hai!” Quick thinking, you are. “One of the Lahore Qalandars assistant coaches took my number and called to check up on me, but I never got the call,” he added.
A T20 franchise in Oman contacted him when a buddy uploaded a video of him bowling to YouTube in 2019.
“They urged me to visit Oman. They aided in the process of obtaining a passport for me. However, cricket isn’t enough to make ends meet in Oman. I had to get a job. I, Mai CCTV camera lagata hun, am one who repairs such devices. I average about 70,000 Pakistani rupees every month. My responsibilities extend to the household as well. Half of my paychecks used to go back to my family. After working a 12-hour shift, I’d hit the gym.
The franchise has provided me with housing and I now work only six or seven hours each day as a player for Azaiba XI. I’ve been increasing my cricket practise. “All of a sudden, my video went viral, and I became famous,” he said.
Imran, at 29 years old, has joined the Oman national camp.
“I’m being coached by head coach Duleep Mendis and his assistant, Mazhar Salem Khan. The T20 leagues around the world will be open to me in a few of years, he remarked.