Meet Mehran Mumtaz, Peshawar Zalmi’s budding star who came from humble beginnings

ISLAMABAD: Skipper Babar Azam’s Peshawar Zalmi this week vanquished table-toppers Multan Sultans for a second time but if it wasn’t for Mehran Mumtaz’s economical bowling, Multan may have snatched the victory.
Zalmi defeated the Sultans by four runs to grab two important points on Tuesday when the two sides locked horns for a Pakistan Super League (PSL) clash in Rawalpindi. While skipper Babar Azam and Saim Ayub made important contributions to Zalmi’s victory with scores of 64 and 46, slow left-arm orthodox bowler Mumtaz took the vital wicket of Reeza Hendricks, and gave away only 20 runs from his four overs.
Mumtaz, who has played for Pakistan’s Under-16 and Under-19 cricket circuit with superstars Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, however, comes from humble beginnings. Before he was picked for this year’s PSL, Mumtaz used to work for meager wages at Rawalpindi’s Sunday market.
“The ground where I played in, there is a Sunday market set up outside it,” Mumtaz told Independent Urdu in an interview this week. “I used to work at the Sunday market with my brother because he used to do that. So, I’ve done that work too.”
In his message to other players, Mumtaz said there is no shortcut when it comes to garnering success as a professional cricketer.
“You have to struggle a lot and if I am Mehran Mumtaz today, then there are 10-11 years of struggle behind it,” he said.
The 20-year-old cricketer credited his parents and coach for supporting him throughout his professional career.
“My message to youngsters would be that if you are here to play cricket then you will have to give it all your time,” Mumtaz said.
Mumtaz, who received his debut cap in the last match, is already looking forward to the next couple of games.
“I am very confident and in the next couple of matches, I will try to do even better, which helps my team win,” he said.