LAHORE  -  Young all-rounder Arafat Minhas has said that Pakistan’s U19 squad has all bases covered and expressed his hope that the team will win the upcoming ICC Men’s U19 World Cup.

Arafat Minhas, who has been a permanent member of the Pakistan U19 team over the last 14 months and has played two four-dayers, 17 one-day games and three T20s for the team, said that the squad boast talented batters and bowlers. “We are fully ready for the U19 World Cup and I feel the squad has all the boxes ticked with talented batters and bowlers. We will look to win the tournament by playing a positive brand of cricket,” said Minhas.

Arafat Minhas is one of the most experienced members of Pakistan’s U19 World Cup squad, having represented the country in three T20Is in the Asian Games Men’s Cricket competition last year. He has also played 10 List A games picking up nine wickets and scoring 330 runs.

In an interview with PCB Digital on Monday, the all-rounder opened up on his cricketing journey and shared how he made hard yards to make his way to the U19 level. “I started my career at Crescent Cricket Club in my hometown Multan. I started playing leather ball cricket at eight years of age and then gradually progressed,” Minhas stated.

“After having braved through the ranks at the U13 and U16 levels in the last few years, the latest challenge in my career is the upcoming U19 World Cup. I’m excited and happy to represent and serve my country at this level and looking forward to the tournament,” he added.

With the ball in hand, Arafat Minhas likes to observe the opposition batters and evaluate their strengths before coming up with a plan to bowl to them. “In today’s cricket, it is very important to disturb the batters with tight lines and lengths and spot their weaknesses which gives the bowler an advantage. I do follow some of the left-arm spinners going on at the moment but I don’t copy anyone.”

His batting philosophy revolves around playing impactful innings, especially in times of crisis as illustrated in the U19 One Day series at home against Sri Lanka U19, where he was the second-leading run scorer with 272 runs in five games.

He walked into bat at number 6 in all the games and struck three fifties. “When early wickets fall, you have to score briskly and take away the pressure. I always try to bat with a healthy strikerate. I feel changing gears according to the pace of the game is my strength as a batter. “I’m confident in my strike rotation and hitting ability. I can manage both according to the requirements of the team,” he concluded.