'Out-of-favour' Junaid desperate to make Pakistan return post successful BPL stint

Fresh from his brilliant bowling performances in the recent edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Pakistan's out-of-favour left-arm pacer Junaid Khan is hoping to put up a similar kind of performance in the upcoming National One-Day cup in order to gain his place back into the national squad.

Junaid, who played his last match for Pakistan in the Test series against Sri Lanka in June 2015, revealed that his target is to represent the country in the Twenty20 and One-Day formats in the upcoming series against Australia beginning on January 13 at the Gabba.

"What I really want to do is take part in the National One-Day cup which is starting on the 17th of December and perform well in this important tournament. If all goes to plan there and in the same way as it has done during the BPL, my target and hope is to make a comeback for Pakistan in the Twenty20 and One-Day formats for the upcoming series against Australia," Pakpassion.net quoted Junaid as saying.

Asserting that he is absolutely fit and ready to play for Pakistan if selected, Junaid said that he hopes to grab national selectors' attention with his recent performances.

"I know that the teams for these formats are yet to be decided and it is my hope that the selectors will pay attention to my recent performances and allow me a chance to represent Pakistan once again. I'm fit, confident and ready to play for Pakistan again if selected," the pacer said.

The 27-year-old, who was discarded for the 2016 tour of England when most pundits expected him to feature in the high-profile series, did not wallow in self-pity and instead focused on improving his skills and put them to the test for Khulna Titans in the 2016 edition of the BPL.

In fourteen matches, Junaid picked up 20 wickets and emerged as the second highest wicket-taker behind Dwayne Bravo.

Talking about his exclusion from the England series, Junaid said, "To be dropped and discarded from international tours such as the one for England was a very tough for me and I felt very distraught. I was lucky then to have the support of my family as well the media in such trying times. I made up my mind that I would do my utmost to prove and show to the world that I am still capable of bigger things. This is why even when I was not part of the squad bound for England, I was practicing and trying to improve myself. The result of that hard work and determination bore fruit in the manner in which I performed in the BPL."

Junaid, who made his international debut in early 2011, has played only 83 international games so far and is still hoping for a role in the Pakistan cricket's future teams.