New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS): Actor Saqib Saleem is set to launch his own cricket coaching center, here. He hopes to provide the best cricketing atmosphere to the underprivileged children.

"While growing up, my dream was to play cricket for the country but destiny had other plans for me. So I thought why not have a facility where one can nurture talent at the grass roots level. I spoke to my coaches in Delhi and so, the academy came into being," Saqib said in a statement.

He has a team of five coaches who will take care of the "day-to-day running of the academy but I have promised myself that I will get as involved as possible because cricket is extremely close to my heart".

The actor, who played a cricketer in "Dishoom", wants to "nurture talent at the grass roots level and also to provide the best cricketing atmosphere to the underprivileged".

"Cricket is an expensive sport and not everyone can afford it. I want to create an even playing field for all and only want the deserving kids to get their due. We plan to have extensive trials for children aged between 10-19 and choose a batch of 30-40 students whom we will train. We will not charge them anything," he added.