Who is Jafer Chohan? 5 interesting facts about Sydney Sixers' new signing for BBL 2024
Jafer Chohan earned his maiden Big Bash League deal from the Sydney Sixers at the BBL 2024 draft on Sunday, September 1. The Sixers signed the uncapped English all-rounder in the bronze category of players.
Chohan is a right-arm leg-spin bowler, who has proven himself as a T20 specialist. The pitches in Australia do not favor the spinners much, which is why it will be interesting to see how Chohan performs in the BBL.
Before the youngster makes his BBL debut for the Sydney Sixers, here are five interesting things to know about the leggie.
#1 Jafer Chohan was born in 2002
Chohan is just 22 years old. The uncapped England player was born on July 11, 2002 in Camden, Middlesex. At the time of writing, the leg-spinner's age is 22 years and 53 days.
The leg-spinner came into the limelight when he dismissed Joe Root and Ben Duckett in an England training session at Loughborough. Subsequently, he received a one-year rookie contract from Yorkshire in 2023.
#2 Jafer Chohan has one five-wicket haul to his name in T20s
As mentioned above, Chohan has proven himself as a specialist in T20s. Yorkshire have not used him in red-ball cricket or List-A matches, but he has already played 23 T20s for the county.
In 23 games, he has accounted for 22 wickets, with his best figures being five for 14. He bowled that dream spell against Durham on his 22nd birthday. Notably, it was the third best spell by any Yorkshire bowler in T20s.
#3 Jafer Chohan is a Pakistan-origin cricketer
Jafer Ali Chohan was born in Middlesex, but his family has their roots in Pakistan. In one of his old Instagram posts, Chohan posed with Musty Akhtar and wrote in the caption:
"Pakistanis taking over St John’s Wood."
Even in one of his other posts where he is bowling in the nets, Jafer has used #PSL in the caption. Perhaps, he wants to play in the Pakistan Super League one day.
#4 Jafer Chohan made his T20 debut under Shan Masood's captaincy
Another interesting fact about Chohan's career is that he played his first T20 match for Yorkshire under current Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood's leadership. Masood captained Yorkshire in the T20 Blast last year.
Chohan had a forgettable debut as he leaked 22 runs in his two wicketless overs. Yorkshire lost that game by 34 runs against the Birmingham Bears.
#5 Jafer Chohan has learned from the Rashid brothers
Chohan is a graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) of the UK. World Cup-winning leg-spinner Adil Rashid and his brother Amar Rashid regularly share tips with the youngsters emerging from that background. In fact, they even run the Adil Rashid Cricket Centre in Thornton.
Earlier this year, Chohan expressed gratitude to the Rashid brothers and said:
"I couldn't be more grateful; without him [Adil] and Amar, my game wouldn't be where it is right now."
Adil Rashid has played for the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL. Now, Chohan is all set to don the Sydney Sixers jersey.