Sohaib Maqsood

Sohaib Maqsood is a promising batsman from Pakistan. He is often compared to the great Pakistan batsman, Inzamam-ul-Haq by the commentators for his tall frame and ability to play fine strokes

Maqsood made his First-Class debut for Multan in 2004 and performed well in the domestic circuit. He began his career primarily as an off-spinner but a serious back injury kept him away from cricket for the next three years. His bowling aspirations cut short, Maqsood bounced back in the 2007-08 season as a handy middle-order batsman. He was bogged down by an ankle injury and poor form in 2010 only to emerge more successful in the years that followed. In the 2010-11 season, Maqsood amassed 951 runs, bettering it in the subsequent season with 1,020 runs. He continued delivering strong performance even in List A games, scoring 944 runs at an excellent average of 78.

It came as no surprise that these performances earned him his T20 debut against Zimbabwe in August 2013, followed by his ODI debut against South Africa in November that year. He played superbly in the ODI series against South Africa, where he slammed a fifty on his debut and followed it up with another fifty in the next match. He also amassed a fifty in the first ODI against Sri Lanka and delivered consistently throughout the series.

Maqsood was a part of the 2014 Asia Cup squad but failed to impress. He was also part of the 2014 T20 World Cup, where he had a poor outing with the bat as Pakistan did not qualify for the knock-out stages.

Maqsood has still not been able to find a permanent spot in the ODI and T20I teams. He is always in and out of the side. The selectors picked him for the series against Australia in UAE, but dropped him for the next against New Zealand. However, he impressed the selectors with consistent performances in First-Class cricket and got a ticket for the 2015 World Cup.