Our Pakistan connection comes together

Past Moonee Valley Club Champion Ihtisham Uddin has returned to Australia, joining fellow Pakistani first class cricketers Wasim Abbas and Salman Afridi for the second half of our season.
When Ishti was last here, he won the Club Champion award in 2012/13 - his third and final season with the Valley - and took out the First Eleven batting and bowling awards for good measure.
He was instrumental in getting Salman and Wasim to Moonee Valley this season, and was keen to join them.
Pictured: Moonee Valley's "eyes and ears" in Pakistan - Ihtisham Uddin (centre), flanked by the players he helped us recruit this season - Salman Afridi (left) and Wasim Abbas. 
Salman was an instant hit when he arrived three games into the VTCA season and leads our division aggregate with 336 runs - and also leads the division averages with 84.00.
Wasim, who is part our our senior coaching panel and coaches our Under 16s, has also been prominent in the Firsts with bat and ball.
Ishti's had his first training session with the Valley on January 3 - after arriving in Australia a week before - and for good measure got his close friend Fawad Ahmed down to training to help look over some of our young spinners.
Leg spinner Fawad toured England and the West Indies with the Australian Test team, played Sheffield Shield for Victoria, has been a stalwart of the Big Bash League and has played T20s overseas for franchises in Pakistan, the West Indies and Canada. 
Ishti, it's good to have you back!