LUCKNOW, Jan. 14 -- It's all about destiny and hard work, which design the future of an individual, but former pacer Imtiyaz Ahmed had no such idea about this almost a few months back until he got a formal invitation to join as head coach of Houston Riders in the inaugural edition of Global Cricket League in USA, featuring many yesteryear cricket greats like Harbhajan Singh. The offer was quite satisfying for Ahmed, especially after being sidelined as bowling coach of Uttar Pradesh's Ranji Trophy team in the new season, and he took it gleefully and aims to set up a new milestone in his sporting career as a head coach in an international cricket league scheduled to be held from January 16 to 25. Ahmed's first assignment for Houston Riders will be against New York Liberty at the Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill on Friday and he wants to make a winning start as coach. "It's a great opportunity for me to showcase my ability as the head coach of a team in an international league, which involves many top former greats of world cricket and this would also be a new learning for me. I would like to start with a win," said Ahmed just before leaving for the USA on Tuesday. The GCL T20 USA will have other participating teams like Chicago Windchasers, Miami Waves, Las Vegas Aces, and Washington DC Eagles, and the event being a professional T20 cricket tournament has received official sanctioning from USA Cricket. "Certainly, the league marks a significant milestone for cricket's growth in the United States. The league aims to promote the sport through a unique blend of sports and entertainment, featuring six city-based franchises competing in a T20 format, and I am happy that I am part of this global event," said Ahmed, who hails from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh. Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar is the league ambassador while Munaf Patel is league mentor and other former Pakistani pacer Waqar Younis has been the league Icon. As far as Ahmed's cricketing credentials are concerned, he had been one of the fastest bowlers in domestic cricket in his playing days and he represented Uttar Pradesh almost for 10 years from 2008 to 2018. In his 45 first-class matches, Ahmed took 138 wickets at an average of 31.00, with 7 five-wicket hauls with 6/110 being his best. His List A record includes 26 wickets in 20 games (average 27.30, best 4/65), and T20s yielded 17 scalps in 20 matches (average 31.47, best 4/5). "Undoubtedly, fast bowling was my forte but whenever I got a chance to bat, I always enjoyed it. I still remember my 54-run knock in Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match in 2012 against Services at Indore," he said. While debuting against Tamil Nadu in 2008, Ahmed troubled top-order batters with swing and bounce, earning Indian Premier League squads for Pune Warriors (2011) and Chennai Super Kings (2013) auctions, though without games. He served as UP's bowling coach and runs TMCA Cricket Academy, mentoring Ranji prospects. In fact, Ahmed's appointment as the first Uttar Pradesh native head coach in a pro league shatters barriers, drawing from 20+ years' coaching at Young Achievers Sports Club. His Bhadohi roots amplify UP's narrative amid stars like Rinku Singh. "I am still attached with a few teams as coaching staff in the UPT20 League and I believe that every coaching assignment will help me grow in the coaching field and I am confident to give my best for Houston Riders in the GGL at the USA," he said....