Warwickshire academy duo sign professional contracts

16-year-olds Hamza Shaikh and Amir Khan have signed professional terms

Teenage academy products Hamza Shaikh and Amir Khan have put pen to paper on professional terms with Warwickshire.

16-year-old Shaikh, a top-order batter, made his second XI debut in July 2021 and has gone on to make six Championship appearances for the side.

He joined the Warwickshire set-up at Under-10s and currently represents Knowle & Dorridge in the Birmingham & District Premier League.

Fellow 16-year-old Khan is a left-handed batter who can bowl both right and left-arm finger-spin. Like Shaikh, he represents Knowle & Dorridge and scored a century against Lancashire in just his second Second XI Championship appearance.

In total, he has played six matches for the Second XI, scoring 375 runs.

^{Director of cricket, Paul Farbrace, backed both players to make an impression in the Royal London Cup [Michael Steele/Getty Images]}

Paul Greetham, Warwickshire’s high performance manager, said:"Both Hamza and Amir have made hundreds in our Second XI as 15-year-olds and they have incredible potential to move beyond these initial rookie contracts.

"Both players started in the Warwickshire system in the Under-10s team, they attend local Birmingham schools, have enjoyed good early careers in the local club game, which will continue, and their families have been fantastic in supporting their journey. We’re thrilled that both have taken this initial step towards what will hopefully be long careers as Bears."

Director of cricket, Paul Farbrace, added: "We’re very proud of the strides that our pathway has made in recent years. Having Ian Westwood and Richard Jones as part of our backroom team has been critical, in taking young players on this journey and educating them about what is needed to reach the professional ranks.

"It’s great to see two local players in Hamza and Amir becoming the latest Warwickshire pathway cricketers to graduate. Both will play a big role for us in the Royal London Cup, but there’s no reason why they cannot push for a first team place in other formats if they continue churning out Second XI runs.

"They’ve come on a huge amount in the last 12 months and we believe they can be part of Warwickshire teams for many years. We ultimately want all of our players to be part of Warwickshire teams that can help us win trophies and play for England, and Hamza and Amir have a great chance of doing both."