Aamer Sohail

Mohammad Aamer Sohail Ali (Urdu: محمد عامر سہیل علی‎; born 14 September 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator and former cricketer.[1] In a playing career that spanned eighteen years, Sohail played in 195 first-class and 261 List A Limited Overs matches, including 47 Test matches and 156 One Day Internationals for Pakistan.

Aamir Sohail
عامر سہیل

Personal information
Full name	Mohammad Aamer Sohail Ali
Born	14 September 1966 Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	Opening batsman
International information
National side	Pakistan
Test debut (cap 122)	4 June 1992 v England
Last Test	5 March 2000 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 80)	21 December 1990 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI	19 February 2000 v Sri Lanka
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1983–1999	Lahore
1987–1992	Habib Bank Limited
1995–2001	Allied Bank Limited
1998–1999	Karachi
2000–2001	Lahore
2001	Somerset
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 47 156 195 261 Runs scored 2,823 4,780 12,213 7,852 Batting average 35.28 31.86 38.89 31.91 100s/50s 5/13 5/31 29/50 9/50 Top score 205 134 205 134 Balls bowled 2,383 4,836 12,063 7,840 Wickets 25 85 157 179 Bowling average 41.96 43.56 38.10 33.34 5 wickets in innings 0 0 2 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 1 0 Best bowling 4/54 4/22 7/53 4/11 Catches/stumpings 36/– 49/– 153/– 92/–
Source: CricketArchive, 30 March 2010

Domestic career

Sohail made his first-class debut in 1983, a left-handed opening batsman and occasional left-arm spin bowler.

International career

Early years

An aggressive batsman, Sohail first appeared for the national team in a 1990 one-day International against Sri Lanka and enjoyed a successful international career. He was an important member of the team that won the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Captaincy

Sohail captained Pakistan in six Tests in 1998, becoming the first Pakistani captain to defeat South Africa in a Test Match.[2] He led Pakistan through 22 One Day Internationals from 1996 to 1998, winning nine and averaging 41.5 with the bat. He also acted as acting captain of Pakistan against West Indies in Sharjah.[3]

Controversies

Sohail played a big role in Pakistan's World-Cup triumph in 1992, famously telling Ian Botham that he might want to send his mother-in-law in to bat, referring to Botham's statement that he wouldn't send even his mother-in-law to Pakistan, after Botham was controversially given out for nought in the final.

In the 1996 World Cup Quarter Final in Bangalore against arch rival India, Sohail was captaining his side in pursuit of a relatively large target of 287 in 49 overs.[4] With opening partner Saeed Anwar, he got Pakistan off to a flying start. With the score at 109 for one, and Saeed Anwar (48) back in the pavilion, Sohail smashed a delivery from Indian seamer Venkatesh Prasad through the covers for four. Both players exchanged words, and Sohail unnecessarily pointed his finger aggressively at Prasad. The next delivery clean-bowled him and triggered a batting collapse which ultimately lost the game and eliminated Pakistan from the competition.[4] Sohail was at the heart of the match-fixing scandal that rocked cricket in the 1990s: as captain of the national team, his whistle-blowing may have negatively affected his international career.[5]

Cricket administration

After retiring from cricket in 2001, Sohail became chief selector for the national team, his tenure ending in January 2004 when he was replaced by former national team wicketkeeper Wasim Bari. He continues to work as a cricket broadcaster. On 4 February 2014, he was again appointed as Chief Selector of the national team for the second time.[6]

Politics

On 18 August 2011, Sohail announced that he had joined Nawaz Sharif's political party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N). According to Sohail, the country needs seasoned and experienced leadership which he believes the PML-N offers.[7]

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. Pakistan in South Africa, 1997/98, 2nd Test scorecard
3. ODI statistics for Aamer Sohail at CricketOnly
4. Vaidyanathan, Siddhartha. "Sohail starts, Prasad finishes". espncricinfo.com. ESPN. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
5. Aamer Sohail ESPNcricinfo profile
6. Farooq, Umar. "Aamer Sohail named Pakistan's chief selector". espncricinfo.com. ESPN. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
7. "Aamir Sohail joins PML-N". The Express Tribune. 18 August 2011.

External links

• Pakistan Cricket Board: Aamer Sohail
• Aamer Sohail at ESPNcricinfo
• HowSTAT! statistical profile on Aamer Sohail