By Rajiv Bisnauth

LEG-spinner Amir Khan says he has set his sights on forcing his way back into the senior set-up after a gap of almost two years.The 23-year-old, who last represented Guyana at the senior level in 2014, can only make the senior squad for the upcoming West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League (PCL), based on a ‘Play for Pay’ criterion, since he is not a contracted player with Cricket Guyana Inc. or any other franchise team regionally.
In an exclusive interview recently, Khan, who plies his trade for city club Everest, is in no doubt about his desire to play for Guyana again. “I’m desperate,” he says.
Khan is currently representing the East Coast Demerara franchise in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Jaguars Franchise League Three-day tournament.
Khan is a proven commodity, and buoyed by past experiences he displayed an aura over his colleagues, which suggested that he was quite clearly a level above them in the first two rounds of the tournament.
With his accurate leg-spin bowling, he finished with a match-haul of 7-58, and was a key figure in his team’s six-wicket victory over West Demerara in the opening round.
In round two, he had two wickets in the first innings, but not before he struck an unbeaten half-century, which eventually helped his team secured a vital first-innings lead of 78 over Upper Corentyne. East Coast Demerara won that game also by six wickets.
“Since my time away from cricket here, I still played the game in Trinidad and Tobago and the USA, but I am really excited to be back here playing. All I want is a strong three-day performance, I had a good first round, and hopefully I’ll continue in that manner,” Khan revealed.
He added, “I know our senior spin department is strong, but once I perform I will always be in the selectors’ mind again.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Selectors and former Guyana fast bowler Rayon Griffith told Chronicle Sport recently that Khan needs to show more patience and at the same time continue to perform.
He labelled his comeback to local cricket as good news for the ongoing League.
Khan made his first-class debut in the 2011 regional four-day competition against Trinidad and Tobago at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, ending wicket-less in the game which Trinidad and Tobago won by an innings and 45 runs.
He has played three first-class games to date, with overall figures of 1-18.