Pakistan-born spinner Zafar Gohar took his career-best List A figures in the President's Cup today (December 18), having switched allegiances to play county cricket as a local player last year.
Pakistan capped spinner takes career-best figures
Having played in four of Ghani Glass's matches in the President's Cup this season, Gohar had previously struggled to make an impact. He went wicketless in his first three outings for the side, before picking up one victim in their last match against the State Bank of Pakistan side.
In their latest match against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), however, Gohar struck gold. After Ghani Glass only managed to put 200 on the board, Gohar having been dismissed for a golden duck, the left-arm spinner rattled through the KRL lineup. Despite a positive start where Saad Baig and Shahzeb Khan put on 107 for the first wicket, Gohar broke the partnership by dismissing Khan after he reached a half-century. He followed up by castling Waqar Ahmed for a 10-ball duck, before dismissing Iftikhar Ahmed in his next over.
His next victims, Muhammad Amir Azmat and Hamza Nazar, also came in consecutive overs, and gave Gohar his second List A five-for. By the time he claimed his last wicket, Sufyan Muqeem trapped lbw, the writing was on the wall for KRL. They collapsed from 107-0 to 165 all out, falling short in what should have been a simple chase by 36 runs. Gohar's final figures read 6-21, with Pakistan Test spinner Noman Ali the next best with 2-40.
Match 23, Ghani Glass vs Khan Research Laboratories
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- Ball by ball Over
Who is Zafar Gohar?
Born in Lahore, Gohar represented Pakistan age-group sides before playing one ODI in 2015. He took 2-54 against England, dismissing both Alex Hales and Joe Root. In November 2020, he was included in Pakistan's 35-player squad to tour New Zealand, and played his only Test match to date when Shadab Khan was ruled out through injury. He scored 34 and 37 in each of Pakistan's batting innings, but returned figures of 0-159 in an innings defeat. Gohar hasn't featured in a Pakistan squad since he was included in their T20I group to tour South Africa in 2021.
From the end of 2021-2024, Gohar played county cricket for Gloucestershire as an overseas player. He took 47 wickets in the 2022 County Championship and scored 2,500 runs over his time at the club. In November 2024, Gohar was signed by Middlesex as a locally qualified player. Earlier this year, he did not shy away from admitting he would love to represent England if the opportunity arose.
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