Faiz Fazal: 7 things to know about the Vidarbha batsman
Faiz Yakub Fazal was selected for India’s tour of Zimbabwe starting on June 11. Fazal is set to make his debut for the Indian Team after impressing on the domestic circuit for a number of years.
Here are 7 things to know about the debutant all-rounder:
1) A century on debut
Faiz Fazal has been playing on the domestic circuit for a while now. He made his first-class debut way back in 2003 with the Vidarbha Ranji trophy team when made a century on debut.
2) Played for two Ranji teams
Faiz Fazal played for Vidarbha for five years till the 2008-2009 season. He left to join the Railways for the 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 seasons. whilst not featuring in the Ranji Trophy for the 2010-2011 season. He has since rejoined the Vidarbha team and is currently their vice-captain.
3) Was last playing in the English second tier of first-class cricket
As of March 2015, Faiz Fazal was playing in the second tier of domestic English cricket. He represented Hetton Lyons Cricket Club, which plays in the North East Premier League Premier Division in Durham County, United Kingdom. The league is meant especially for the North East of England.
4) Represented the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and remained unsold for IPL 2016
The Vidarbha batsman played for the Jaipur-based franchise of the IPL for a period of two years. He played as a middle order batsman and a handy bowler for the Royals but the team could not finish higher than sixth since 2009-2011. Fazal was also unsold in the auction for IPL 2016.
5) Helped Central Zone win the Duleep Trophy
Faiz Fazal scored a fighting half century, his 22nd in first-class cricket in the 2014-2015 edition of the Duleep Trophy which helped the Central Zone win the trophy that year.
6) Led a historic chase in the Irani Trophy
Faiz Fazal scored a century against Mumbai to help his team to a historic run chase after conceding 603 runs in the first innings earlier this year.
7) Scored a century for India A earlier this year
Murali Vijay and Faiz Fazal had an opening partnership of 162 for India A in the Deodhar Trophy earlier this season, helping the team to a total of 286 runs in 50 overs.