LAHORE: This has been an exciting year for Tayyab Tahir, as his outstanding run in the Pakistan Cup 2022-23 helped Central Punjab to the title by being the best batter (573 runs at 47.75 and a strike rate of 99.65) of the tournament and the player of the final – got him a maiden call-up for the three One-Day Internationals against New Zealand in January.
Two months later, he scored a half-century on HBL Pakistan Super League debut for Karachi Kings and that immediately followed his Pakistan debut during the three-T20 International series against Afghanistan in Sharjah. Now, Tayyab, who hails from Gujrat, is in line to play his second Asia Cup in as many months after scoring a match-winning century against India A in the ACC Emerging Men’s Asia Cup.
Tayyab’s first introduction to cricket was through tape-ball cricket as usually is the case in Pakistan. For his ability to hit big, Tayyab, by early teenage, had won many admirers. Realising his potential and after a conversation with his elder brother, Tayyab’s father, Tahir Yasin, took him to Lahore at the age of 14 so he could pursue the game professionally.
“I belong to a village named Thoon near Sarai Alamgir and used to play tape-ball cricket there,” the 30-year-old Tayyab Tahir said, adding: “There used to be no professional hard-ball cricket in that area, so everyone played with tape-ball. I was fond of football before taking up tape-ball cricket, and I was really good at it. There was, however, no scope in football. I used to watch cricket on the television, started to play it, and got good at it too. People in the nearby villages used to invite me [to play for their teams]. People used to come to the ground to watch me. I was a kid at that time so I was not aware of the following I had developed. It was only when I started to play hard-ball cricket that I realised the true value of this sport.”
In an interview, Tayyab said, “My uncle, who lives in England, told my dad to get me into professional cricket so I can excel as a cricketer. My father took me to Lahore and got me into PNT club, ran by Azhar Zaidi. Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistan all-rounder, took my trials. He was kind enough to not to bowl fast at me and said that I am brave enough to be a cricketer; all I had to do was work hard. I am grateful to my father who made sure my passion turned into my profession. Usually, parents want their children to be doctors or take up some other profession. My father saw what I was passionate about and in return, I worked hard to make him proud.”
The transformation, from tape-ball to hard-ball cricket, often times, is challenging for batters. as the art in hard-ball cricket demands an alteration in grip, more pronounced footwork and a steady balance. Whether it was facing thousands of balls in the nets to develop muscle memory or noticing minute details by watching cricketers around him, Tayyab, who arrived in Lahore in 2007, aged 14 gave everything to make sure he excelled in the sport.
“It is tough to make the switch,” he acknowledged, adding: “In tape-ball cricket, all you have to do is swing your bat. I did not even know which leg guard goes on what leg. I used to observe cricketers around me and on the television, and pick up things that they used to do to upskill myself.” The dividends started to come in 2015 when he made domestic debuts across all formats. He scored half-centuries for Lahore Eagles and Lahore Blues in List A and first-class formats, and had to wait around three years for his first innings in T20 cricket. His T20 career also kicked off with a half-century for Lahore Whites against Peshawar.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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