HYDERABAD
Former Hyderabad all-rounder and member of the 1987 Ranji Trophy-winning team, Khalid Abdul Qaiyum, will don the role of a coach in the City, setting up his own academy K&S Residential Cricket Academy (Shamshabad) ,in association with another former cricketer Salamath Ali Khan at CBR Ground (Gollur)
The 64-year-old Qaiyum, who is now staying in the USA, said he was grateful to C.B.R. Prasad, who gave the land for free to develop the academy, which would be fully operational in two weeks.
“The facility will not only have quality infrastructure but also a residential facility for outstation young talent willing to hone their skills,” Khalid said.
“Having coached at All Saints before leaving for the USA in 1990 and staying connected with the sport there, I know what it takes to be a successful coach,” said the gutsy cricketer who played 67 First Class games scoring 3,368 runs between 1976-1990.
“There will be no age limit to recruit trainees and efforts will be made that talented cricketers keep improving with the ultimate objective of producing internationals,” Khalid said.
Why coaching now? “I am shocked at the current affairs in Hyderabad cricket. I thought it’s time to give back something. Money is not the criterion as I am well-settled in America. The fee will also be nominal even though we plan day-long training sessions since we have the residential facility also.
“And, we are in touch with other former cricketers who might be interested in coaching at the academy,” said Khalid, who also revealed that he was the first one to have spotted the likes of Abdul Azeem, Kanwaljit Singh and Venkapathi Raju.
