Peshawar Zalmi conduct a talent hunt in Bristol in collaboration with Gloucestershire

PSL franchise Peshawar Zalmi and around 80 ambitious young cricketers from in and around Bristol were invited by Gloucestershire Cricket yesterday, a part of their side's UK Talent Hunt initiative.

The Zalmi were crowned PSL champions in 2017, where they went past Quetta Gladiators in the first-ever PSL final to be played on Pakistani soil. They won that match in Lahore by 58 runs.

The whole event was supervised by Pakistan national team legend, Inzamam-ul-Haq. The 52-year-old made 120 Test and 378 ODI appearances for Pakistan, scoring more than 19,000 runs in the process. 

The talent hunt took place at Gloucestershire's Seat Unique Stadium in the hope of spotting a young player with raw talent. 

The event was spearheaded by the Director of Cricket at Peshawar Zalmi and former Gloucestershire player Mohammad Akram. During the visit to the Seat Unique Stadium, Mohammad also held meetings with Gloucestershire Chairman David Jones and Chief Executive Will Brown to discuss how the two clubs can work closely together in the future to develop talent in both Pakistan and Bristol.

Speaking at the Seat Unique Stadium, Mohammad Akram said, "We're here to create more opportunities for youngsters. That's the whole idea, to open more doors for youngsters in franchise cricket,"

"To do that, we're visiting eight cities in England and Wales and are looking to compile a team of 16 which can go and compete in Pakistan domestic cricket. Four of those who are selected will be a part of the Zalmi dressing room in the PSL, so it is an excellent opportunity for them to rub shoulders with some superstars.

"We're very excited with the talent we've seen, and it's great to see a mix of communities all coming together."

Will Brown comments on the upcoming talent search

Will Brown, Chief Executive at Glos Cricket, said, "It was brilliant to be able to support Mohammad, Inzamam and all of the team at Peshawar Zalmi as part of their UK talent hunt.

"It is an excellent idea introduced to us by our board member, Dr Adeela Ahmed Shaafi, that brought a whole new group of talented players to the stadium, giving them an incredible opportunity to play at a world-class venue and potentially put themselves on the road to a professional contract. We are very excited to be working with Peshawar Zalmi and hope this is very much the start of a long and meaningful relationship."

This is not Zalmi's first talent hunt initiative. They have been conducting searches far and wide across the UK to find talented young players who could one day fulfil their dreams of making it as a pro cricketer. 

The franchise's scouting team have held similar sessions in Luton, Bradford, Birmingham, Newport in Wales and more. They are also hoping to venture into Europe in the coming weeks. 

The major objective of such an initiative by the Peshawar Zalmi is to put together a team of 16 young talented prospects and provide them with the appropriate opportunity to enable them to play in Pakistan's domestic level tournaments.