Mohammad Irfan
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mohammad Irfan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-hand bat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Left-arm medium-fast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009/10–present | Khan Research Laboratories | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 18 October 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mohammad Irfan (born 6 June 1982) is a Pakistani left-arm medium-fast bowler, hailing from Punjab. His height is a reported 7 foot 1 inches, which if true, would make him the tallest player to play first class cricket.[1]
Return to Cricket
His belated re-entry into Pakistani cricket at the age of 27 was facilitated by former Pakistani fast bowlers Nadeem Iqbal, Aaqib Javed and Pakistani fan site pakpassion.net. Some Pakistan cricket fans got together to sponsor Mohammad Irfan while he was training at the Lahore NCA. These fans are now on the websites Pakpassion.net and Cricistan.com.
First Class contract
After impressing coaches at the NCA Irfan got several offers from First Class teams including Habib Bank and ZTBL. However it was KRL opener, Azhar Ali, who convinced KRL coach Rashid Iqbal to give Irfan a trial with Khan Research Laboratories (KRL). Azhar had seen Irfan take 4 wickets against Pakistan A and had immediately called KRL telling them that Irfan would be a good fit for their team. Irfan went for the trial and got selected, the first part of his dream was complete.
He made his first class debut in the QEA Trophy in October 2009 playing for Khan Research Laboratories. He bowled economically but was unable to take any wickets in a high scoring game.[2] In his second first class game, Irfan took 7-113 in the second innings and 9 wickets overall in the match. His first wicket in professional cricket was of young Pakistani international batsmen Ahmed Shehzad. He also took the wicket of Imran Farhat and injured Hasan Raza with a bouncer before taking his wicket.[3]
Irfan continued to impress early on in his first class career. In his third match he grabbed 11 wickets to help his side to the first win of the championship. He recorded 5/27 in the first innings and 6/96 in the second innings.[4]
Before he was given a lucrative break in first class cricket, Irfan contemplated giving up the game and was working for a plastic pipe company. His exact height is yet undertermined with various ranges around the 6'10 mark given. This height would make him the joint tallest cricket player of all time alongside English cricketer Will Jefferson.
The timeline of Irfan's journey can be found at pakpassion.net blog
Irfan has an official 'fan page' on the popular social networking site FaceBook, and also a fan blog on cricistan.com where it provides frequent updates about Irfan and his career.[5]
IPL - Kolkata Knight Riders (2011-)
Irfan announced that he had signed a memorandum of understanding with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to represent them in the 2011 IPL Season. This deal is only valid as long as the PCB and the BCCI give their approval. The main reason for Irfan being given a trial with KKR was because former Pakistani pace-bowler Wasim Akram recommended Irfan to the KKR management. Irfan's contract will earn him $75,000 plus another $2,000 dollars for every game he plays in. However the contract needs to be approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India [6][7][8][9] Irfan's contract also requires approval from the Pakistan Cricket Board [10]
International Debut (2010)
While the Pakistani team were touring England in 2010 Irfan was announced as a replacement for the two bowlers who were accused of spot-fixing allegations Mohammad Amir & Mohammad Asif [11] Irfan made his debut in the first ODI against England in England in 2010 however rain saw the match reduced to 41 overs. He finished with bowling figures of 0-37 off 5.3 overs, before going off the pitch with cramp. 15 of those runs coming from his first over in International Cricket. England later went on to win the game by 24 runs.
References
- ^ Mohammad Irfan Cricinfo Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ Mohammad Irfan's debut : KRL v PIA scorcard
- ^ Dawn article on Irfan
- ^ Irfan 11 wicket haul
- ^ Irfan's Facebook Fan Page
- ^ http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/471812.html
- ^ http://tribune.com.pk/story/37699/mohammad-irfan-signs-ipl-contract/
- ^ http://sify.com/sports/kolkata-knight-riders-sign-6-10-giant-pak-fast-bowler-on-akram-s-recommendation-news-news-kikmklcajdh.html
- ^ http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/detail/item481152/Irfan-agrees-to-KKR-deal-/
- ^ http://www.cricinfo.com/indian-premier-league-2011/content/story/476391.html
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/other_international/pakistan/8964873.stm