Saj Mahmood swaps county caps for snapbacks… Saj Mahmood, the former England, Lancashire and Essex fast bowler, and former Warwickshire and Worcestershire slow left-armer Shaaiq Choudhry have swapped county caps for snapbacks after launching new careers in the fashion industry. Mahmood and Choudhry have both helped to set up rival lines with snapbacks – fashionable baseball caps – helping to establish them in the marketplace. Mahmood is now marketing director of Baulla, a fashion label created by a friend who had worked in the industry for more than 30 years. Choudhry joined partners with a friend in his native Rotherham to form Brothers Circle and his early success in the business helped him to win one of the PCA Personal Development Scholarship Awards. Although these are early days in their new careers, both Mahmood and Choudhry are enjoying life in the fashion industry making their mark with their new brands. ” We started in December and got the word out on social media. We weren’t sure what sort of response we would get but people seem to love the logo and the name,” Mahmood said. ” We got a little bit of stock in in December but that sold out in two weeks so we had to re-order everything. ” Thanks to cricket I am pretty well connected. Playing for England almost 40 times opens a lot of doors for you. I am in a privileged position where I have made lots of good contacts through cricket and hopefully I can utilise them in this business.” Choudhry may not have enjoyed Mahmood’s profile during his playing career but former team-mates, as well as stars of television reality shows, have helped him to promote the Brothers Circle brand. ” A number of reality television stars and sports people are wearing our gear. We’ve had guys from Geordie Shore, Ex On The Beach and Love Island who have taken a liking to our stuff. That has helped us a lot. They have posted on their social media platforms as well so that has brought in a bigger audience for us. Some of these guys have got 100,000 followers and so that has raised our profile,” he said Choudhry began planning for life after cricket before he was released by Worcestershire last season and had worked closely with Lynsey Williams, one of the PCA’s six-strong team of Personal Development and Welfare Managers on enrolling for a degree in graphic design with the Interactive Design Institute. Mahmood also discussed his plans with another PCA PDM Matthew Wood, the former Yorkshire and Glamorgan batsman, before he joined Baulla. {{ak_sharing}}
