Abdur Rehman (cricketer)

Abdur Rehman (Punjabi, Urdu: عبدالرّحمٰن‎; born 1 March 1980, Sialkot, Punjab) is a Pakistani former cricketer who played for Pakistan in all formats.

For other cricketers, see Abdur Rahman (disambiguation).

Abdur Rehman
عبدالرّحمٰن

Personal information
Full name	Abdur Rehman
Born	(1980-03-01) 1 March 1980 Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Slow left arm orthodox
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Pakistan
Test debut (cap 187)	1 October 2007 v South Africa
Last Test	14 August 2014 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 155)	7 December 2006 v West Indies
Last ODI	4 March 2014 v Bangladesh
ODI shirt no.	36
T20I debut (cap 12)	2 February 2007 v South Africa
Last T20I	13 November 2013 v South Africa
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1998–2002	Gujranwala
1999–present	Habib Bank Limited
2004–2007	Sialkot
2005–2015	Sialkot Stallions
2012, 2015	Somerset
2016	Peshawar Zalmi
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 22 31 165 157 Runs scored 395 142 3,462 1,136 Batting average 14.10 8.35 17.48 13.20 100s/50s 0/2 0/0 0/17 0/1 Top score 60 31 96 50 Balls bowled 6,892 1,642 35,788 8,308 Wickets 99 30 592 227 Bowling average 29.39 38.06 26.87 26.83 5 wickets in innings 2 0 25 2 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 5 n/a Best bowling 6/25 4/48 9/65 6/16 Catches/stumpings 8/– 7/– 68/– 36/–
Source: CricketArchive, 2 April 2017

He is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and a left-handed batsman. In October 2018, he announced his retirement from international cricket.[1]

Playing style

An orthodox left arm spinner who is not a huge turner of the cricket ball, his accuracy and consistency, as well as his ability to exploit rough patches on the pitch, works well at both domestic and elite levels. He bowls flat and tries to control the flow of runs. His batting has also helped Pakistan on some occasions in test matches. In most matches his bowling has had helped Pakistan win but his batting has also helped at times.

Domestic career

Rehman's rise to fame started in 1999 when he took hauls of five and six wickets in successive matches while representing Pakistan Under-19 against South Africa. He was picked for the side even though he only had two first-class outings. His performances in domestic competitions have been notable, especially during the 2006–07 season where he ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the Pentangular Cup including an 11 wickets for champions Habib Bank Limited in the penultimate match of the season. He is the signed professional for 2017 playing for Newcastle City in the Northumberland and Tyneside Senior League.

He was the leading wicket-taker for Habib Bank Limited in the 2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with 46 dismissals in nine matches.[2]

English county cricket

Rehman signed on as one of the two overseas players for Somerset County Cricket Club in July 2012, after the county had suffered a series of setbacks in securing a second overseas signing. After delays over his work permit visa,[3] he played his first match against Nottinghamshire on 7 August.[4] In the last four-day championship match of the 2012 season at the County Ground, Taunton, in September, Rehman took a career-best tally of 9–95 against Worcestershire.[5]

On 7 November 2014, Rehman signed a contract to return to Somerset as their overseas player for the entirety of the 2015 season.[6]

International career

In the early years, Rehman's opportunities on the international circuit were limited, partly because of the abundance of spinners in the Pakistani line-up, and partly because he was believed to lack the ability to cause major concern to batsmen in Test matches. Rehman's Test debut was an auspicious one – he took eight wickets at home against South Africa in 2007 – but played only one more Test before being dropped for three years. Upon his return in 2010, he carved a more permanent place for himself as Pakistan opted for a twin-spin attack in Tests along with Saeed Ajmal. He showed that he deserved a place by reaching the 50-wicket mark in only his 11th Test.

In January 2012, Rehman took his first five-wicket haul in a Test, taking 6/25 as Pakistan bowled England out for 72 in the second innings of the second Test of their series in the United Arab Emirates.[7] He took another five-wicket haul (5/40) in England's first innings of the Third Test in Dubai, as Pakistan won the series 3–0.[8]

He bowled three consecutive beamers in an ODI match against Bangladesh on 4 March 2014 and had to be taken off for the match;[9] he became the first bowler to concede 8 runs in one over without bowling a ball. After this performance in this series he has not been picked in all three categories ever since. He was picked by Peshawar Zalmi (PSL's Team) in draft on 22 December 2015.

References

1. "Pakistan left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman retires from international cricket". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
2. "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, 2018/19 - Habib Bank Limited: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
3. "Somerset: Abdur Rehman's arrival delayed by visa issues". BBC Sport. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
4. "Somerset: Pakistan spinner Abdur Rehman set to make debut". BBC Sport. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
5. "Somerset v Worcestershire: Abdur Rehman takes nine wickets". BBC Sport. 11 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
6. "Abdur Rehman: Somerset re-sign Pakistan spin bowler". BBC Sport. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
7. "Spin is king". ESPNcricinfo. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
8. "England tour of United Arab Emirates, 2011/12 / Scorecard: Third Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
9. "Bangladesh v Pakistan, Asia Cup, Mirpur: Abdur Rehman barred for three illegal full-tosses". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2016.

External links

• Abdur Rehman at ESPNcricinfo
• Abdur Rehman's profile page on Wisden