5 interesting facts about Pakistan seamer Khurram Shahzad, who took 6 wickets vs Bangladesh in 2nd Test in Rawalpindi
Khurram Shahzad bowled a dream spell on Day 3 of the ongoing Pakistan vs Bangladesh Test in Rawalpindi. The right-arm fast bowler rattled the stumps of Shadman Islam and Najmul Hossain Shanto after dismissing Zakir Hasan caught behind. He then trapped Shakib Al Hasan LBW to leave Bangladesh reeling at 26/6.
Liton Das' century (138) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz's half-century (78) helped Bangladesh bounce back and post 262 runs on the board. Before Bangladesh's innings ended, Khurram Shahzad added two more wickets to his tally, dismissing Miraz and Taskin Ahmed.
Khurram Shahzad has played two Tests for Pakistan before this one, but his spell of 6/90 in the ongoing game has announced his arrival in world cricket. Here are five interesting things about Pakistan's newest star.
5 interesting facts about Khurram Shahzad
#1 Steve Smith was Khurram Shahzad's 1st Test wicket
As mentioned above, Shahzad has played two Tests for Pakistan. He made his Test debut against Australia last year in Perth, where he dismissed Steve Smith to open his account.
Smith was batting on 31 when Shahzad dismissed him caught behind. Later in the same Test, Shahzad also picked up the wickets of Mitchell Marsh, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, and Smith again, but Pakistan lost by 360 runs.
#2 Khurram Shahzad is just 24 years old
Shahzad was born on November 25, 1999, in Mandi Bhauddin. At the time of writing, the right-arm fast bowler is 24 years and 282 days old. He has represented Peshwar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators in the PSL.
In domestic cricket, Shahzad has played for Habib Bank Limited. He has an experience of 47 first-class matches, 44 List-A matches, and 31 T20 games in his career.
#3 Khurram Shahzad took a 6-wicket haul against Bangladesh 'A' two months ago
It looks like Shahzad enjoys bowling against Bangladesh. Before his six-wicket haul in the ongoing Test, he returned with figures of 6/72 in an unofficial Test against Bangladesh 'A' in Darwin.
Shahzad's six-wicket haul helped Pakistan 'A' win that unofficial Test by 148 runs. It will be interesting to see if his latest six-wicket haul ends in a winning cause or not.
#4 Khurram Shahzad made his first-class debut under Umar Gul's captaincy
It may surprise a few fans but Shahzad made his first-class debut for Habib Bank Limited in a Quaid-e-Azam trophy match against Lahore Whites in October 2017. Former Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul was captaining the HBL team at the time.
Shahzad remained wicketless in the first innings but in the second innings, he opened his account by dismissing opposition opener Anas Mahmood. HBL won that match by 29 runs.
#5 Khurram Shahzad did not realize his bowling action was like Dale Steyn until a friend pointed out
Fans, who have seen Shahzad bowl, would have noticed that his bowling action is similar to that of former South Africa player Dale Steyn. In a chat with PakPassion in 2021, the fast bowler was asked about the resemblance of his bowling action with that of the legendary speedster. Replying to the question, Shahzad had said:
"I had always bowled in the way I do today, and I would say that this is my natural style of bowling. I only noticed that I bowled like Steyn when one of my friends pointed it out to me a few years ago and told me that this was the case. Since then, I have been watching Steyn’s bowling videos to see how he bowls and trains and what has made him such a special world-class fast-bowler. I am a great fan of Steyn now."
It will be interesting to see if Shahzad can match the success that Steyn achieved. His goal for now will be to help Pakistan win the ongoing Test against Bangladesh, who won the first match by 10 wickets and lead the two-Test series 1-0.