Mohammad Zahid
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| Mohammad Zahid | ||||
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 Pakistan |
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| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batting style | Right-hand bat | |||
| Bowling style | Right-arm fast-medium | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Tests | ODIs | |||
| Matches | 5 | 11 | ||
| Runs scored | 7 | 15 | ||
| Batting average | 1.39 | 7.50 | ||
| 100s/50s | -/- | -/- | ||
| Top score | 6* | 7* | ||
| Balls bowled | 792 | 512 | ||
| Wickets | 15 | 10 | ||
| Bowling average | 33.46 | 39.10 | ||
| 5 wickets in innings | 1 | - | ||
| 10 wickets in match | 1 | n/a | ||
| Best bowling | 7/66 | 2/20 | ||
| Catches/stumpings | -/- | 1/- | ||
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As of 4 February 2006 |
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Mohammad Zahid (born August 2, 1976 in Punjab) is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. Zahid is the first Pakistani cricketer to take ten wickets on his debut, scoring an eleven-wicket two-innings haul against New Zealand.
Having suffered a back injury and subsequently having to go through back surgery halfway through his career, he continued to play until January 2003. Zahid's last Test was against South Africa which saw a record first-wicket partnership by the South Africans of 368 runs, shared between Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs.
He took 11 wickets in his debut test against New Zealand and became the only Pakistani to have taken 10 wickets or more on his debut. Besides this, he bowled an exceptional over to Brian Lara (West Indies), who was the premier batsman of the world at that point in time, Brian Lara missed the first five deliveries due to sheer pace that Zahid generated before edging the last bowl for a caught behind. This performance caught the eyes of the cricketing pundits.
[edit] Injury
He picked up a back injury in the tour to Sri Lanka and after his back operation could not make his return to the world of cricket. He did come back for a short stint in the series against South Africa in 1998 but had lost his pace considerably and subsequently his line & length, eventually he was dropped from the Pakistan team.
[edit] Current
Zahid plays club cricket for Wickersley in the South Yorkshire Cricket League and also plays regional cricket in Pakistan.
Pakistan lost this great talent because of his inept handling by Captain Saeed Anwar.Mohammad Zahid who was faster than Shoaib Akhtar with clean action was made to bowl 29 overs in one day in Srilanka when the temperature was above forty Celsius and humidity level over seventy.It broke his back and he could not recover.
When Zahid appeared on the cricket scene, Pakistan's two great fast bowlers-Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis-were at their prime. PCB did not care for Mohammad. It was only few years back when PCB President Gen Tauqir tried to revive Zahid's career by handing him to a PCB physio but perhaps that was too late. His contemporary Shoib Akthar is still around and lands Pakistan in one controversy after the other. Mohammad Zahid had the cleanest of action, great speed and was an asset. Alas Pakistan cricket was deprived of such talented bowler. Had there been Imran Khan around when Zahid appeared on the scence, it would have been different story. It was Imran Khan who spotted Waqar Younis and took under his wings. Two Ws,as they were commonly known, owed it to Imran Khan what they were later years.
