Muslim Gymkhana Cricket Club, since its inception way back in 1966, has been playing a vital role in providing an opportunity to youngsters to hone their skill for the international cricket at the historical Iqbal Parks.

Although Aamir Malik took 12 years to become the first Test cricketer of the club, later several cricketers of the club succeeded in getting the place in the national team in quick succession.

Among them was Inzamam-ul-Haq who later emerged as a backbone of the Pakistan batting. He went on to become the captain of the Pakistan cricket team which had prominent players like Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Akhtar, Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria and many others.

Currently, Ahmed Shahzad and Usman Salahuddin, who were part of the last West Indian tour of the national team, are the fresh lot of the Muslim Gymkhana.

Former Test umpire Mian Mohammad Aslam has been working as the chief organizer of the club for the last 43 years. His services are unmatched in keeping alive the name of the Muslim Gymkhana. He held the post of the chief organizer in 1968, two years after Javed Aslam had laid the foundation of the Muslim Gymkhana.

Mian Aslam had been on the list of ICC international panel of umpires from 2000 to 2002, but could supervise only three international matches because no country was ready to visit Pakistan for security reason in the wake of 9/11 attacks.

In all, he supervised 12 Tests and 28 One-Day International, including some matches of the 1996-World Cup, which was co-hosted by Pakistan and India. Currently, Mian Aslam is also the head of the LCCA's umpires committee.

In a chat with Dawn, Mian Aslam says a good number of Gymkhana's players have represented Pakistan in the national team and at under-19 level.

Besides Inzamam and Aamir Malik, he said the club also produced players like Taufiq Umar, Mohammad Ramzan and Mujahid Jamshed who represented the Test and ODI teams.

He said the prominent under-19 products of the club were Naeem Khan, Yasir Ahmad, Waqas Aslam and Junaid Khan.

The chief organizer said that about 45 youngsters were being polished at the net while the club charged measly Rs50 per month from them.

He said that patron-in-chief Arif Butt, patron Mian Misbah-ur-Rehman and former Test cricketers provided financial support to the club.

He said he was thankful to MPA Kiran Dar for providing Rs1 million to build a boundary wall around the ground to save it from motorcyclists.

The Punjab Sports Board had promised to lay five to six pitches in Iqbal parks in collaboration with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), he said.

The chief organizer said if all facilities were provided then grounds in Iqbal Parks could hold even first-class cricket matches.

******

The lovers of football got an opportunity to watch an international match at the Punjab Stadium on Sunday last between Pakistan and Bangladesh in the qualifiers for the World Cup-2014 to be held in Brazil.

A good number of 6,000 fans enjoyed the match even on a day when Lahore had received a downpour in the afternoon. The ground was awash with rainwater, but the organizers made a good job of it.

Although Bangladeshi coach Nicola Illievski had requested the FIFA to shift the match from Pakistan to some other country for security reason, the international game's governing body had rejected the request and retained Lahore as the venue of the match.

A security official from Malaysia made excellent arrangements with the help of the local police and the match was held in a peaceful atmosphere, giving a message to the world that Pakistan is safe to hold sport events.

The Punjab Stadium had already hosted Malaysia, Palestine and other football teams in the recent past, besides holding the first Saarc Baseball Cup successfully.

Hopefully, the successful holding of a football match between Pakistan and Bangladesh will help convey a positive message to the world about the peaceful atmosphere in Pakistan.