ISLAMABAD: The first phase of the Jazz Rising Stars programme by Lahore Qalandars concluded on Thursday with 16 players selected out of around 35 thousand players, who appeared in the trials in two cities of Azad Kashmir. The trials were conducted at Mirpur and Muzaffarabad during the first phase of the program, which will now resume after Eid. According to the details provided by Qalandars management, the first stop of Jazz Rising Stars was Mirpur where over 15,000 aspirants tried their luck in the talent-hunt program. “20 players were picked from trials at Mirpur and were taken to Muzaffarabad for the 2nd phase of Kashmir trials for the final selection,†said a spokesman for Lahore Qalandars.
In Muzaffarabad – the second stop for the JRS in Azad Kashmir – over 19,000 participants showed up for the trials. “From these participants, 60 were shortlisted including 20 from Mirpur, and from these 60, the final 16 were selected before Jazz Rising Stars wrapped up for Eid-break,†he added. The players selected from Azad Kashmir trials include Sohail Akhter, Malik Aswad, Ahmed Abbasi, M Irfan, M Mubashir, Hassan Raza, M Yasir, Owais Butt, Salman Irshad, Fahad, Shadab, Usama, M. Bilal, Danyal, Shayan, Tayyab and Ayyan. Among the selected, Salman Irshad is said to be a fast bowler who constantly bowled at speed of 144kmph and Aqib Javed spoke high of him. The next stop of Jazz Rising Stars will be Rawalpindi on 4th and 5th of September. This is the second edition of Rising Stars programme by Lahore Qalandars. Last year over 113,000 players appeared in trials across eight cities of Punjab. Of them, after appearing at different stages, 15 selected players were sent to Australia for further experience, while four of them were picked for Qalandars’ Pakistan Super League side.
