সোহেল খান

Sohail Khan emerged from the depths of obscurity in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to be one of the fast bowling stars in the Pakistan domestic circuit. Sohail attributes his pace to the strength that he built up by throwing stones and swimming in rivers on the mountainous terrains of NWFP.

Following an advice from a relative, Sohail Khan moved to Karachi and entered into a speed talent hunt organized by former Pakistan pace ace, Sikandar Bakht. He bowled at 85 mph, which was recorded as the third fastest in the country. While playing for a private club, he was spotted by Rashid Latif.

Rashid Latif kept him confined to the nets for close to a year and made him bowl all day. He also urged Sohail to work on his fitness on a consistent basis. After putting in all the hard work, he was selected to play for Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) in 2007-08. He had a fantastic start in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, picking up 10 wickets in his debut match against Pakistan Customs.

He ended up being the highest wicket-taker in the competition that year, with 65 wickets at an average of 18.43, including eight five wicket hauls and two ten wicket hauls. He also played for Sind in the RBS Pentangular Cup in the same season, picking up 23 wickets in four matches, including two consecutive five wicket hauls.

His consistent performances earned him a spot in the 16 man squad for the tri-series played in Bangladesh also featuring India in June 2008 . He was chosen as a replacement for Mohammad Asif but did not feature in any match. He made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in February 2009 at Karachi ( Pakistan have not played a Test at home after that) but proved ineffective. He further waited two years for a recall and was dropped after playing a single Test against Zimbabwe. But patience bore fruits for him as he was picked for the tour to England in 2016 and he shone with a couple of fifers in the two Tests that he played. He travelled to New Zealand and Australia as well post that.

His ODI credentials are not flattering at all barring the fifer that he picked against arch-rivals India in the 2015 WC. Post the WC though, he was not favored much and played a solo ODI in October 2016. However, he has been picked for the squad that will play World XI in September as cricket returns to Pakistan.

FACTOID: He snapped up 16/189 in a match against WAPDA, breaking Fazal Mahmood's 51 year old record for the best match haul by a Pakistani bowler in domestic cricket, which was 15/76 for Punjab against Pakistan Combined Services in 1955/56. He picked up 7/80 in the first innings and 9/109 in the second innings as the match ended in a draw.