I want to be Pakistan’s Jonty 
                      Rhodes: Imran Nazir 

Cricket seems to be religion for 19-year-old Imran Nazir. The young 
opener apparently seems to have cemented his place in the Pakistan 
side and looks forward to the home series against England to bolster 
his burgeoning averages. At a time, when Pakistan’s cricket has been 
rocked by match fixing, Imran has been far from all this. 
The soft-spoken wiry teenager from Lahore is already turning out 
to be a sensation fielder. His elbows and knees are permanently bruised
. Imran wants to be the Jonty Rhodes of Pakistan. He spoke to Soumitra 
Bose in Nairobi. 

 Nairobi must have been a disappointing experience? 

Yes, certainly. We never expected to lose to New Zealand. We had our 
best side in recent times, but then our batting didn’t click. New 
Zealand, of course, did very well to get the runs against our bowling
attack. All credit to them for beating us.

You were run out for 40 against Sri Lanka and got 21 against New 
Zealand. You played a bad stroke against Shayne O’Connor after 
looking very set.? 

Yes, I realise the mistake I did. I have been getting out to the pull
that is actually my favourite stroke. Against O’Connor, I wasn’t 
quite in line with the ball and hence top-edged it. This temptation 
of pulling the ball has cost me dear on several occasions. I have to 
be careful about shot selection. 

You surely must be working on your weaknesses? 

Oh yes. I am a natural stroke player and love to thump the ball, 
but I now realise that staying at the wicket is also crucial. I have 
been constantly working on my defects, trying to perfect the pull 
shot and as I said before, have to be careful about shot selection.
 
 How important will be the home series against England? 

The series will be crucial for me. It’s a good chance to establish 
myself as an opener. The conditions will be in our favour and I 
have to make the best use of this. The Test matches will be important.
There lies my biggest test. In a one-day match, I can even hit the 
good ball, but the Tests will be different. The balls have to be 
treated on merit. I will know how much I have overcome my weaknesses.
 
You had a very good tour of the West Indies earlier this year. How 
important was the tour for you?

I would rate the West Indies tour my best so far. It was a big break 
for me after I made my debut in India last year. As a newcomer, it 
was an acid test for me. Playing on the West Indian wickets against 
two of the world’s best bowlers was an enormous challenge for me.
I am happy that I quite succeeded. I got two hundreds, one each in a
Test match and a one- day International. The 131 in the Bridgetown 
Test (Barbados) gave me a lot of satisfaction. My unbeaten 105 in 
the Granada one-dayer helped Pakistan win and I really played strokes
to my heart’s content.