There are just about two things that unite this country. One is chai and the other is cricket. Whenever the Pakistan cricket team is victorious, we see people rejoicing all over the country.

When a player performs well he has a fan following in all the provinces. Superstars like Imran Khan, Javed Minadad, Wasim Akram, Inzamam ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, etc, are adored throughout Pakistan irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds. The most heartening fact is that during various cricket talk shows, which include live public calls, you hear people calling from remote areas such as Dera Bugti, the tribal areas, and Gilgit-Baltistan to praise their favourite players (even if these players may not belong to that person’s own ethnic background) and voice their intense wish for the betterment of Pakistan cricket. This proves that the common Pakistani has an inbuilt love for his or her country at heart and wants to see the nation prosper and succeed in all aspects.

In the past, the majority of our international cricket players either belonged to Karachi or the urban areas of Punjab. But now we see a change in this trend and at present players from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and rural Punjab like Younis Khan, Umer Gul and Mohammed Irfan have proved themselves and become a regular part of our team.

There are some other regions of the country including rural Sindh, Balochistan, FATA and Azad Kashmir whose players have hardly represented the Pakistan team on the international level. However, these days many upcoming players from these regions have shown talent in domestic cricket and are waiting for recognition.

From rural Sindh, I would like to name a 26-year-old stylish left-handed batsman Aqeel Anjum, spinners Zahid Mahmood and Nasir Awais as well as all-rounder Lal Kumar who have been regularly performing well in the local tournaments.

From Balochistan I would like to mention batsmen Taimur Khan and Taimur Ali, all rounder Mohibullah and Arun Lal and fast bowlers Nazar Hussain, Faizullah and Gohar Faiz, all of whom are performing reasonably well on the domestic scene, whereas the last mentioned was among the top wicket-takers in the recently-concluded Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, representing the Quetta team.

Also among the top performers in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy are two Fata-born players — one is 24-year-old left-hand opening batsman Israrullah, who is playing for Peshawar, and the other is the 21-year-old wicketkeeper batsman Rehan Afridi representing Abbottabad.

Furthermore, I would like to mention the 26-year-old right-hand opening batsman Afaq Raheem, who was born in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, and is currently representing Islamabad’s domestic cricket team, who is also a consistent performer in domestic cricket.

I have mentioned the above players just to let the readers know that there is a wealth of talent in almost all the regions and provinces of Pakistan. I suggest that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) organise regular tours of the Pakistan A-Team throughout a calendar year. They should also try to have players from all regions in the A-Team. If any player performs exceptionally well on the Pakistan A-Team tours then he should be included in the 16-player national side and given full opportunity to prove himself. For a player from remote areas, even representing the Pakistan A-Team and wearing the green Pakistani blazer can be motivating and at the same time develop a sense of pride in the local people of his region.

The PCB should make extra efforts to promote cricket in remote areas like rural Sindh, Balochistan, KP, Fata, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir by developing infrastructure and grounds, providing coaching facilities as well as media coverage to encourage players from these areas and also bring in funds into domestic cricket for the wellbeing of the local players.

I am sure that such steps would not only raise the standards of cricket in all regions of the country. It will also help in bringing back the much-needed unity among our nation.