Pakistan’s emerging batter Sameer Minhas has credited street cricket, family support, structured age-group programmes and a fearless mindset for shaping his development as a cricketer. “My journey began with street cricket and playing at home with my brother. My father later enrolled us at an academy and that is where my serious cricketing journey started,” Sameer recalled in the latest episode of Straight Drive with Salman Butt.
Sameer revealed that he initially started as a leg-spinner and tried to copy Yasir Shah before developing into a batter. He also acknowledged the contribution of his long-time coach, Tahir Mehmood Faiz. “My coach recognised my batting and fielding talent and encouraged me to take the game seriously.
I have been working with him since 2013.” Highlighting the importance of fitness, Sameer said his father emphasised training and diet from an early age. “If you want to play for a long time, training and diet are very important. I began training seriously after the U16 level because I knew U19 cricket was the next major step.” Sameer praised the age-group camps, saying exposure to different coaches and trainers helped players improve.
The U19 programme in Multan brought together leading performers from across the country, provided quality preparation and played an important role in forming the team.” Explaining his batting approach during the ACC U19 Men’s Asia Cup, Sameer said: “My plan was to look for at least one boundary in every over, particularly during the Powerplay and then rotate the strike. Against India, the coaches told us to play fearless and positive cricket without worrying about the result. We followed that message.” Reflecting on his HBL PSL experience, Sameer thanked Islamabad United’s management and Luke Ronchi for giving him confidence.
“They told me not to worry whether I scored zero, 10 or 100, but to enjoy my batting and express myself. That support removed the pressure.” Sameer said he wants to represent Pakistan across all three formats, adding that red-ball cricket develops patience and technique, while white-ball cricket demands calculated aggression.
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