“I was watching television with my family earlier today and saw my name in the one day squad. I couldn’t believe it and had to look away from the television and then look again to actually believe that I had been included. I was literally rubbing my eyes in disbelief. My family were with me and it was a special moment for all of us.”

This was 23-year-old Multan fast bowler Rahat Ali’s special moment, surprising but not completely unexpected as his confidence suggests.

“After a successful domestic season and being called up to the recent camp in Lahore, I’m raring to go and I am full of confidence and self belief. I’ve always had faith in my ability and now I hope that I can perform on the big stage which is international cricket. The Sri Lankan batting line up is a powerful one but if I am given a chance I would love to test myself out against them,” Ali said in an interview to pakpassion.net.

He is regarded by fellow players and officials on the domestic circuit as someone with a lot of raw pace but also great control and spearheads KRL and Balochistan’s attack. He took 17 wickets at an average of just over 23 in four Pentangular Cup matches. His performances in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy were equally impressive as he took 44 wickets in 9 matches at an excellent average of 17.45. However, he only featured in one National One Day Cup match for KRL where he took 1 for 29 in eight overs against Peshawar.

“I’ve watched videos of the great Imran Khan and also watched legends like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and also more recently watched the brilliant Shoaib Akhtar. They are all inspirations to me, they are all bowlers who I look to emulate. Pakistan has always had great fast bowlers and the tradition of fast bowling is well and truly alive in the country. I want to continue that tradition and for Pakistani cricket fans around the world to be proud of me.”

Rahat was one of 11 pace bowlers who were recently called to Lahore to take part in a fast bowler’s evaluation camp supervised by Pakistan’s coaches Dav Whatmore and Julien Fountain.