Afridi to organise summer camp

There may be more like him in the future if Shahid Afridi's camp successfully identifies some young talent © AFP

Shahid Afridi will organise a summer coaching camp in Karachi for Under-19 and Under-14 players later this month.

Afridi is famously the product of very little formal coaching himself, having honed his unique style on the streets of Karachi before he gained acclaim as an international. But he is keen to unearth talent from the city that he has lived most of his life in.

"Sadly, nowadays we are not producing such cricketers from our city," Afridi told Dawn, a Karachi-based daily. "I think, as national heroes, it is our foremost duty to make some sort of contribution to ensure we don't lag behind."

Karachi's presence in the national team has dwindled in recent years, as more cricketers emerge from smaller towns, particularly in Punjab. Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, apart from Afridi, are among the more successful Karachi talents in recent years.

"There was a time in the past when there was stiff competition for places at the Karachi level and a number of those players went on to represent Pakistan. But now there are hardly a couple of players representing Karachi in our national teams," Afridi explained.

Dates for the camp have not yet been decided though trials for it will be held at the National Stadium on June 9-10. Afridi also said that other national team members will come to the camp. "I intend to invite a good number of former and current Pakistan players during the camp for giving tips as well as do some coaching."