- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Former Pakistani asylum seeker Fawad Ahmed says his journey to Australia has been all about survival and the chance to push for Ashes selection is simply amazing.
Cricket Australia (CA) on Thursday announced the leg-spinner’s selection for Australia A’s matches in England, confident his citizenship can be fast-tracked in time for the Ashes series in July after a bill to amend the Citizenship Act passed through the House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
While the bill will still need to progress through the Senate, CA said it appeared there was enough support for it to soon become law.
“It’s amazing news for me,” Ahmed told reporters in Melbourne.
“It’s a great opportunity for me now to prove myself,” added the 31-year-old who claimed 16 wickets in three Sheffield Shield matches for Victoria earlier this year.
“I’ve been through a really tough time.
“Wars in Pakistan and fled in 2010, camp here, struggled to survive but never give up, working hard and happy to be in a great place.
“It’s time to enjoy and this is the start of a new journey now.
“I never expected this was going to happen after three-and-a-half years.
“I came here to just, there was a question on my life. People were raising a finger on my life.
“So I was just surviving. I just came here for a better life.
“I was thinking to just survive here and to be like other people who came as an immigrant.
“But this is something amazing. I couldn’t imagine this.”
Ahmed says after four years in Australia, he feels this is his home country and it’s time to give something back.
“At the moment I am a resident so I’d love to be a citizen,” said Ahmed, whose previous home was in Pakistan’s border region near Afghanistan where he said he was targeted by Muslim extremists.
“This nation has given me a lot. They have given me honour and respect.”
Ahmed says he hopes to have a coaching session in England with his idol, Australia’s legspin great Shane Warne. Ahmed praised CA spin coach Stuart MacGill for his tutelage at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.
Offspinner Nathan Lyon is the only spin bowler in Australia’s Ashes squad, with the selectors leaving the door open for Ahmed and others to press claims.
The ICC’s Player Eligibility Criteria does not apply to selection for national A teams, so Ahmed is able to join the Australia A tour before the bill is finalised in the Senate.
Ahmed will be available for selection in the Australia A tour matches against Ireland (June 14-17) and Gloucestershire (June 21-23).
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.