Biography

The son of former Pakistan footballer Abdul Ghaffar, Zulfiqar chose cricket as his sporting profession. Born in Okara Punjab in Pakistan, Zulfiqar is a left-arm orthodox spinner who made his first-class debut in 2001-02 playing for Rest of Punjab. Over the years, Zulfiqar played for different teams including Pakistan A playing against Sri Lanka as well as the West Indies. Although he could not make an entry into the national side, Zulfiqar boasts of a staggering record in the domestic circuit having picked up 309 wickets in 63 games at an impressive average of 20.36.

At a time when Pakistan had the likes of Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq in their spin department, making an entry into the side was a distant dream for Zulfiqar but destiny showered its blessings on him on 27th July, 2013 when he was given a chance to wear the national colors against West Indies in a T20 international match. Zulfiqar, then at 34 and 229 days, became only the second oldest player to play a T20 international for Pakistan. Picking up 5 wickets in the two match series, he was named Man of the Series as he impressed everyone with his spell. Zulfiqar, who says that his father never forced him to take up football, allowed him to play with an open mind.