City’s budding cricketing talent, Gulfaam Saleh, is soon expected to take a major stride in the pursuit of his sporting dreams. The 23-year-old batsman recently stood as one among the 33 cricketers shortlisted all over India, by Funngage.com, for a five-year cricket scholarship programme. More significantly, the Vizag cricketer is also among the select 15, who will soon be travelling to Australia for a special training regime as part of the scholarship.
Recently, former India opener Gautam Gambhir gave a send-off to the 15 cricketers who will be heading Down Under for the training. Notably, Dheeraj Laxman is another Vizag cricketer who has been selected to travel to Australia.
The five-year scholarship programme includes paid cricket equipment and medical support along with sports physiotherapy sessions among other facilities. The training regime in Australia will be taking take place at the Guildford Grammar School in Perth, under the watchful eyes of former South African cricketer HD Ackerman.
“I was the top scorer in the selection matches that took place earlier. I’m happy to bag the scholarship and get a chance to train in Australia. The scholarship comes just at the right time for me. It should lower the financial burden and give me an opportunity to pursue cricket for another extended period of 4-5 years,” shares Gulfaam.
Going ahead, the Vizag batsman hopes to make a mark in the limited overs, thereby paving the way for his entry into the Ranji team. “Once I get going, I can score runs pretty easily. This ability should help me get into coveted limited overs tournaments in the domestic circuit. Hopefully, after proving my mettle here, I can get into longer formats,” Gulfaam says. Also, the right-handed batsman, who is a naturally aggressive player, aims to get into the fray of things for the IPL in the near future.
