Pakistan are in town and they’ve got a few quicks, including veteran seamer Sohail Khan, who may cause England a bit of trouble in the upcoming three-match Test series.
The signs are promising for the future with the presence of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi, while the disciplined Mohammad Abbas has found plenty of joy in English conditions before.
But another man in their ranks, who has done the business against England previously, is 36-year-old Sohail Khan. Here’s the lowdown on the right-arm quick.
So… what’s his story?
It’s been a peculiar international career, to say the least. Sohail’s Test debut came when Sri Lanka visited Pakistan in 2009, and he returned horrid first-innings figures of 0-131 from 21 overs at Karachi. He was forced to wait another two years to take his first Test wicket, against Zimbabwe, and it wasn’t till 2016 he played his third Test, on the tour of England.
He’s put on the pyjamas too, with the ODI highlight a five-for against India at the 2015 World Cup. That campaign was Sohail’s lengthiest run in the 50-over set-up, though; he hasn’t been seen for Pakistan in the format since an appearance against West Indies in October 2016. In T20Is, five appearances have resulted in five wickets at 24.60.
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Sohail Khan celebrating a wicket against India at the 2015 Cricket World Cup[/caption]
How did he fare on Pakistan’s tour of England in 2016?
Sohail’s third life as a Test cricketer was far more fruitful than his early comings. With the series square, Sohail was picked for the third Test at Edgbaston and in England’s first innings provoked fatal edges from Alex Hales, Joe Root, James Vince and Jonny Bairstow before James Anderson was trapped lbw. While that five-for came in a defeat, Sohail picked up another in the next Test at The Oval in what proved to be a historic win; just days later Pakistan moved to the top of the Test rankings.
What happened afterwards?
Sohail added five more Test appearances to his name that same year but hasn’t been the reckoning since. Upon his selection for the 2020 tour, head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq – Sohail’s captain on the 2016 tour – cited the seamer’s previous performances in England and his recent domestic form as factors in his selection, explaining that the selectors felt “he bowled much better in the 2019/20 domestic season than his figures reflected”; Sohail took 22 wickets at 39.77 in the most recent edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
PCB Green dismissed for 113 runs as Sohail Khan takes a five-wicket haul on day-one of the four-day intra-squad match at Derby. https://t.co/zzp7EE7p4L pic.twitter.com/7FEv5Dc6dh
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) July 24, 2020
What’s he done in the intra-squad matches?
It’s been a whole lotta fun for Sohail in Pakistan’s intra-squad matches so far. In the opening game in Derby, he took 5-50 as he combined with Shaheen to bowl Team Green out for 181. In the ongoing match, against what looks to be a full-strength Pakistan line-up, he added another five-for to his collection, accounting for Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Shadab Khan and Shaheen.
