Who is Mehran Khan? 5 interesting facts about Oman seamer who took 3/7 vs Namibia in T20 World Cup
Mehran Khan came into the limelight yesterday after his stunning spell against Namibia in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Playing for Oman, the 37-year-old medium pacer returned with dream figures of 3/7 in his spell of three overs.
Oman had to defend a 110-run target against Namibia in Barbados. The match went down to the last over, with Mehran Khan having the responsibility of defending five runs from six balls. Mehran stepped up and delivered the goods by taking two wickets off the first three balls.
All of a sudden, Oman were the favorite to win with two needed off the last ball. David Wiese failed to connect a shot off Mehran's final ball, but wicketkeeper Naseem Khushi fumbled behind the stumps, allowing Namibia to steal a bye. Namibia eventually won the game via Super Over.
Although Mehran Khan could not help Oman win, his bowling earned him the fans' attention. Here are five interesting things to know about the 37-year-old player of Oman.
#1 Mehran Khan made his T20 debut back in 2015
Oman qualified for the T20 World Cup for the first time in 2016. The qualifiers for that tournament took place in Europe in 2015, where Mehran made his T20 debut against Kenya on July 11, 2015, in Edinburgh.
Playing his debut game, he did not get a chance to bowl, but he batted at No.5 and scored 13 runs off 14 balls. Oman lost that game by eight runs in a chase of 145.
#2 Mehran Khan has taken a 5-wicket haul in T10 cricket
Khan has played a lot of club cricket in his career. As per his official CricClubs profile, the 37-year-old from Oman has played 29 T10 matches, scalping 22 wickets. His best figures in the T10 format have been 5/13.
Even in T20 cricket at club level, his best figures are 5/43. It shows that when he gets going with the ball, he bags multiple wickets for his team.
#3 Mehran Khan's old tweet about Asia Cup 2022
Khan is not so active on social media, but in 2022, he shared a meme related to the Asia Cup. India were the popular favorite to win the event, with 69 percent voting for them in a poll.
Sri Lanka had a zero percent chance of winning as per the poll. However, the Lankan Lions won the Asia Cup that year. Khan posted a picture of that poll and tagged Sri Lankan commentator, Russell Arnold, labeling him as the happiest man.
#4 Mehran Khan can also contribute with the bat
While Mehran has become the talk of the town for his bowling, he is also a fine batter. The Oman player has scored 268 runs in 29 T20I innings at a strike rate of 111.66 so far.
Back in April 2022, Mehran smashed a 100-ball 134 in a local 50-over tournament game. He hit eight fours and 11 sixes in that match for the Oman Stallions.
#5 Mehran Khan spent time with India's cricket legends in Oman
In early 2022, Oman hosted the Legends League Cricket tournament. Several big names in the cricket world participated in that three-team competition. One of the teams was India Maharajas featuring retired Indian cricketers.
During that tournament, Khan spent time with the likes of Wasim Jaffer, Yusuf Pathan, and Munaf Patel. He shared pictures with them on X. Perhaps, he would have also taken some valuable cricket tips from them.