Sohail Khan (; born 6 March 1984), also known as Sohail Pathan, is a Pakistani cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he gained instant recognition during his debut first-class season in 2007 when he broke

Fazal Mahmood Fazal Mahmood PP, HI (18 February 1927 – 30 May 2005) was a Pakistani international cricketer. He played in 34 Test matches and took 139 wickets at a bowling average of 24.70. The first Pakistani to pass 100 wickets, he reached the landma ...

's record for the best bowling figures by a Pakistani in a first-class match.Sohail Khan bags 16 wickets to shred record books
''

Cricinfo.com ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

.'' Retrieved on 2008-03-11. Shortly afterwards he made his international debut, in an ODI against

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. Khan was part of the team for

2015 Cricket World Cup The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 11th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was jointly hosted by Aust ...

.Sohail Khan
''

.'' Retrieved on 2008-03-11.

Early and personal life

Sohail Khan was born and raised in

Sakhakot Sakhakot is an administrative unit, known as Union councils of Pakistan, Union council, of Malakand District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The name of Sakhakot is derived from two words, "Sakha" and "Kot" which means "fort of gene ...

Malakand District Malakand District (, ) is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Malakand Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Until 1970, it was a part of the Malakand Protected Area of the erstwhile Provincially Administered Tribal Area(P ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

. He played tennis-ball cricket from a young age and bowled at a lively pace, something he says he owes to the muscle strength he built up from throwing stones and swimming in rivers and streams present in the mountainous environment. Realising his potential and on the advice of a friend, he moved to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

to play professional cricket.Young, inexperienced and ready for Pakistan
''

.'' Retrieved on 2008-03-11. His brother Murad Khan played some first-class cricket before turning to modelling.

Domestic career

After playing some minor cricket in

, Khan entered a speed hunt talent contest held by former Pakistan bowler

Sikander Bakht Sikander Bakht (24 August 1918 – 23 February 2004) was an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who served as the 15th governor of Kerala from 2002 until his death. He was elected as the Vice President of the BJP, s ...

and attained top position, his speed of 95 mph was also the third fastest in the country. A stint at Millat Club, in Malir, was followed by a place in Sindh Police's team. A few months later he was spotted by Dr. Shah, a renowned individual in Karachi's cricket fraternity, who convinced him to play for his team, A.O. Club. While playing for Shah's team, Khan was spotted by former Pakistan captain

Rashid Latif Rashid Latif (born 14 October 1968), is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team in Tests and One Day Internationals from 1992 to 2003 as a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman. He also serv ...

who offered him a place at his cricket academy, which he accepted. During his time at the academy he also played for Deewan group, before joining Sui Southern Gas Company's (SSGC) cricket team. He picked up 21 wickets in his initial matches for SSGC, and the team was promoted to first-class cricket shortly afterwards. Khan made his first-class debut for SSGC against

Pakistan Customs Pakistan Customs () is one of the cadres of the Civil Services of Pakistan. It is staffed by officers from the Pakistan Customs Service (PCS) which is one of the premier occupational groups among Pakistan's civil services. Pakistan’s Federal ...

in the 2007/08

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...

. He impressed in his first innings with the ball, picking up a

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batter. Takin ...

for only 59 runs off 25 overs, and followed up with another five wicket haul in the second innings for 75 runs off 23 overs, to finish with a

ten wicket haul In cricket, a ten-wicket haul occurs when a bowler takes ten wickets in either a single innings or across both innings of a two-innings match. The phrase ten wickets in a match is also used. Taking ten wickets in a match at Lord's earns the bowle ...

on debut. In SSGC's final game of the competition, Khan broke Fazal Mahmood's long-standing record for the best bowling figures by a Pakistani in first-class cricket with a match haul of 16–189 off 52.5 overs against

WAPDA The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (), colloquially known as WAPDA, is a Pakistani government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA includes ...

at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium, Karachi. He finished as the highest wicket-taker for the competition, with 65 wickets at an average of 18.43 including eight five wicket hauls and two ten wicket hauls. Playing for

Sind Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest provin ...

in the 2007/08 Pentangular Cup, Khan took four wickets in his team's opening match of the competition. He followed that performance up with consecutive five wicket hauls against Baluchistan and Federal Areas in the next two matches. Against Punjab he took six wickets, including

Salman Butt Salman Butt ( Punjabi:سلمان بٹ; born 7 October 1984) is a former Pakistani cricketer and captain who played for Pakistan national cricket team between 2003 and 2010, before getting banned for five years for his involvement in a 2010 spo ...

Misbah-ul-Haq Misbah-ul-Haq Pride of Performance, PP Sitara-e-Imtiaz, SI (; born 28 May 1974) is a former Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer. Misbah captained Pakistan national cricket team, Pakistan in all formats and is former head ...

and

Kamran Akmal Kamran Akmal ( Punjabi, Urdu: ; born 13 January 1982) is a Pakistani cricket administrator, coach and former cricketer, who played for Pakistan as a right-handed batsman & wicketkeeper. He started his international career in November 2002 with ...

, helping Sind to victory in the tournament. Khan was subsequently named bowler of the tournament, leading with 23 wickets at an average of 16.69, meaning he ended his debut first-class season with 91 wickets from 14 matches. He was the leading wicket-taker for

United Bank Limited United Bank Limited (often abbreviated as UBL) is a Pakistani bank headquartered at I.I. Chundrigar Road in Karachi. It is a subsidiary of British multinational conglomerate, Bestway Group. Founded by Agha Hasan Abedi in 1959, UBL saw its firs ...

in the

2017–18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The 2017–18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy was the 60th edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's domestic first-class cricket competition. It was contested by 16 teams representing eight regional associations and eight departments, and took place ...

, with 51 dismissals in seven matches. He was the leading wicket-taker for Federal Areas in the

2017 Pakistan Cup The 2017 Pakistan Cup was the second edition of the Pakistan Cup, a List A cricket competition. It was held from 16 to 29 April 2017, with all the matches played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi. It was contested between five team ...

, with seven dismissals in five matches. In April 2018, he was named in

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

's squad for the

2018 Pakistan Cup The 2018 Pakistan Cup was the third edition of the Pakistan Cup, a List A cricket competition which was contested between five teams. It was held from 25 April to 6 May 2018, with all the matches played at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. Feder ...

. In March 2019, he was named in

's squad for the

2019 Pakistan Cup The 2019 Pakistan Cup was the fourth edition of the Pakistan Cup, a List A cricket competition which was contested between five teams. It was held from 2 to 12 April 2019, with all the matches played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The Pakis ...

. In the final of the tournament, he scored 45

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

and took three wickets, and was named the player of the match. In September 2019, he was named in Sindh's squad for the

2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy was a first-class domestic cricket competition that took place in Pakistan from 14 September to 31 December 2019. Habib Bank Limited were the defending champions. However, after the new domestic structure was ...

tournament.

PSL

He was bought for US$25,000 by

Karachi Kings Karachi Kings (; ) is a Pakistani professional franchise Twenty20 cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, and was formed in 2015 by the Pakistan Cricket Boar ...

in 2016 drafts. He took just 4 wickets in 6 matches, but franchise owner and team management still showed faith in him as he was retained by kings for 2017 season winning the maroon cap and best bowler of the season award as he took 16 wickets in only 9 matches helping his side win many important matches.

International career

Khan made his international debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in the fourth match of the five ODI series. He was expensive on the flat wicket, although he still managed to pick up one wicket, finishing with figures of 1/38 off 7 overs. He then played in the third and fourth ODIs against the visiting

Bangladeshis Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the permanent residents ...

in April 2008, going wicketless in the first and picking up three wickets in the second. He was selected to replace Mohammad Asif in the 16-man squad for the tri-series in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

in June 2008, which involved the hosts and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, after Asif was detained at

Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport () is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic as of 2024. It is also the busiest airport in the Middle East as ...

. On 7 January 2015, Chief Selector of PCB,

Moin Khan Muhammad Moin Khan (; born 23 September 1971) is a Pakistani cricket administrator, coach, and former cricketer, primarily a wicket-keeper-batsman, who remained a member of the Pakistani national cricket team from 1990 to 2004. He was a part of ...

announced the Pakistan Cricket team world cup squad of 2015 in which Sohail Khan was the surprise selection. He had been out of international team since 2011 and got the selection due to strong domestic performance in 2014 season and the fact that he remained one of the quickest bowlers in the country.

Cricket World Cup 2015

Khan made a comeback in the team on 15 February in the Pakistan's important opening game vs their arch-rivals India in the world cup. He picked up 5–55 and he was on the hat-trick in the last over after dismissing the Indian skipper

MS Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian professional cricketer who plays as a right-handed batter and a wicket-keeper. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific wicket-keeper batsmen and captains and one of the greatest O ...

and

Ajinkya Rahane Ajinkya Rahane (born 6 June 1988) is an Indian cricketer and former Indian captain in all formats and former vice-captain of the Indian team in Test cricket, who has played for Indian cricket team in all formats as a batsman. He currently capta ...

but it wasn't enough as the Indian side scored 300 for 7 wickets (300/7) and Pakistan were bowled out for 224 an the end of the 47th over with India winning the game by 76 runs. He scored 7 runs from 10 balls including a boundary. Khan took important wickets during the tournament. In the rain affected match against South Africa, Pakistan bowled out for 222 before the 47th over. Khan bowled well, troubling the Proteas' batsmen. He took the crucial wicket of

AB de Villiers Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a South African former international cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest batters of his generation. de Villiers was named as the ODI Player of the Year three times during h ...

, who threatened to take the game away. Pakistan won the match by 29 runs (D/L) and it was the first time that Pakistan won a World Cup match against South Africa. Khan ended as Pakistan's second highest wicket taker in that tournament, with 12 wickets at an average of 30.33. After the tournament, he was ruled out from the team due to injury and was wasn't seen until the 2016 Test series against England.

Return to Test cricket

Khan made his Test return after five years since he made his debut. Selected for squad against England, he played the third test against the host and took his first five-fer. He took 7/207 in the match where Pakistan lost by 141 runs. In the fourth and final Test, he again took a five-fer which resulted in Pakistan's favor of winning the match and drawing the series 2-2. In August 2017, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2017 Independence Cup, a Twenty20 International series against a World XI team. In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In July, he was shortlisted in Pakistan's 20-man squad for the Test matches against England.

References

External links

*
Rashid Latif Cricket Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sohail Pashtun cricketers 1984 births Living people Pakistani cricketers Pakistan Test cricketers Pakistan One Day International cricketers Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen People from Malakand District Cricketers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Federal Areas cricketers Sui Southern Gas Company cricketers Sindh cricketers Karachi Whites cricketers Karachi Blues cricketers Karachi Zebras cricketers Karachi Dolphins cricketers Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup Karachi Kings cricketers Lahore Qalandars cricketers Quetta Gladiators cricketers Dhaka Dominators cricketers Pakistani expatriate cricketers in Bangladesh United Bank Limited cricketers Multan Sultans cricketers