Ramban’s ‘Amir Lefty’ on right track to make it big in cricket

RK Kichlu

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Batote, November 10

Undeterred by odds, Amir Hamid Wani, alias Amir Lefty (21), belonging to a humble family, is determined to make his career in cricket from a sleepy village of Ramban district.

This tall left-handed batsman and left-handed fast bowler, a native of Chanjlu, Banihal, now settled at Bankoot village, has been a cynosure of one and all in the T-20 matches held here.

Having won the best bowler, best batsman and man of the series awards besides being the man of the match in the final of the Banihal Champions’ League organised by the Army this year, Amir is on cloud nine. He won Rs 20,000 for scoring 259 runs and scalping 14 wickets in five matches.

This was his best performance after he scored 482 runs and took 16 wickets in five matches last year in the Champions Trophy organised by the Army in Ramban.

His other impressive performance was at the All-India Gufran Tournament-2016 in Doda where he had a haul of 306 runs and 10 wickets in five matches.

The haul of 305 runs and eight wickets in five matches in the Banihal Premiere League, 2012; 272 runs and four wickets in two matches in the Verinag Premiere League, 2017; 345 runs and 11 wickets in five matches of the Banihal Cricket Tournament, 2016 and 110 runs and six wickets in two matches of the United Cricket Club, Srinagar, are some of his other performances. During the past two years, he was declared man of the match 37 times, man of the series nine times and best bowler and best batsman eight times each.

“I owe gratitude to the Army for arranging a cricket net facility at Tethar in Banihal and for organising cricket tournaments regularly and encouraging cricketers by giving good rewards,” said Amir. “Deterred by insufficient facilities, lack of competition and bone-chilling winters, I am thinking of shifting to some other state to improve,” he added.

Having represented Ramban district in the inter-district cricket tournament at Srinagar in 2008 and attending the selection trials of under-19 and under-22 matches regularly, Amir is optimistic of making it to the J&K team one day. Amir had attended the Madan Lal Cricket Academy for six months at Green Park, Delhi, in 2016 and got coaching for a couple of months at the MA Stadium in Jammu last year.