Former South Africa spinner Imran Tahir has opened up on his unfulfilled dream of representing Pakistan in international cricket. Tahir said that he couldn’t get an opportunity to play for his home country despite putting in the hard yards in Pakistan’s domestic cricket.
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The wily spinner though wasn’t bogged down by the disappointment and despire the struggles, kept working towards his bigger dream of making a mark in international cricket.
Tahir shared his uplifting story while delivering a lecture as the mentor of Bahawalpur Royals in the Pakistan Junior League, as per a report in Cricket Pakistan.
The Pakistan-born cricketer added that he even did odd jobs during his struggling days.
“I have never lost courage in my life. I have done packing jobs at shops. No one would call me to bowl. At trials, I was asked who had sent me. I have successfully played at every level in Pakistan, but the dream to represent the country didn’t come true," Imran Tahir was quoted as saying.
The 43-year-old went on to thank South Africa for giving him the opportunity to play for the Proteas.
He also had some words of wisdom for the budding cricketers, advising them to never lose heart and to keep working towards their dreams.
“I am thankful to South Africa for giving me the opportunity. I was finding a chance and benefitted from it when it was given to me. I would advise cricketers never to lose courage and look for opportunities. I am an example for the world and have been playing cricket for the last 22 years," Tahir said.
Tahir made his ODI debut for South Africa in 2011 and the leggie went on to play for them across all three formats.
He retired from ODI cricket after the 2019 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Although Tahir he indicated his availability for selection in the T20Is but was ignored by the South African cricket board for the T20 World Cup last year.
Tahir has claimed 293 wickets in International cricket across all formats and continues to ply his trade in T20 leagues across the globe.
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