:Zahir Khan (Afghan cricketer)

{{Infobox cricketer

| name = Zahir Khan

| image =

| country = Afghanistan

| fullname = Zahir Khan Pakteen

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1998|12|20|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Kabul, Afghanistan

| heightft =

| heightinch =

| heightm =

| nickname = Paheli{{Cite web |title=Keep calm and celebrate like a #Prince – The story behind Islamabad United nicknames |url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/227785-keep-calm-and-celebrate-like-a-prince-the-story-behind-islamabad-united-nicknames |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=www.geo.tv |language=en}}

| batting = Left-handed

| bowling = Left-arm unorthodox spin

| role = Bowler

| club1 = Band-e-Amir Region

| year1 = 2017

| clubnumber1 =

| club2 = Mis Ainak Region

| year2 = {{nowrap|2017–present}}

| clubnumber2 =

| club3 = Rangpur Riders

| year3 = 2017

| clubnumber3 =

| club4 = Lancashire

| year4 = 2018

| club5 = Nangarhar Leopards

| year5 = 2018

| club6 = Khulna Titans

| year6 = 2019

| club7 = Jamaica Tallawahs

| year7 = 2019

| club8 = Speenghar Region

| year8 = 2019

| club9 = Brisbane Heat

| year9 = 2019/20

| club10 = St Lucia Zouks

| year10 = 2020

| club11 = Melbourne Stars

| year11 = 2020/21

| club12 = Quetta Gladiators

| year12 = 2021

| club13 = Melbourne Renegades

| year13 = 2021/22

| international = true

| internationalspan = 2019–present

| testdebutdate = 5 September

| testdebutyear = 2019

| testdebutagainst = Bangladesh

| testcap = 17

| lasttestdate = 26 December

| lasttestyear = 2024

| lasttestagainst = Zimbabwe

| oneodi = true

| odidebutdate = 10 March

| odidebutyear = 2019

| odidebutagainst = Ireland

| odicap = 47

| lastodidate =

| lastodiyear =

| lastodiagainst =

| oneT20I =

| T20Idebutdate = 19 February

| T20Idebutyear = 2023

| T20Idebutagainst = United Arab Emirates

| T20Icap = 49

| lastT20Idate = 7 October

| lastT20Iyear = 2023

| lastT20Iagainst = India

| columns = 4

| column1 = Test

| matches1 = 3

| runs1 = 0

| bat avg1 = 0.00

| 100s/50s1 = 0/0

| top score1 = 0*

| deliveries1 = 336

| wickets1 = 7

| bowl avg1 = 34.14

| fivefor1 = 0

| tenfor1 = 0

| best bowling1 = 3/105

| catches/stumpings1 = 0/–

| column2 = FC

| matches2 = 17

| runs2 = 40

| bat avg2 = 3.33

| 100s/50s2 = 0/0

| top score2 = 11*

| deliveries2 = 2,494

| wickets2 = 82

| bowl avg2 = 20.85

| fivefor2 = 4

| tenfor2 = 0

| best bowling2 = 6/52

| catches/stumpings2 = 4/–

| column3 = LA

| matches3 = 20

| runs3 = 39

| bat avg3 = 4.87

| 100s/50s3 = 0/0

| top score3 = 15

| deliveries3 = 1,050

| wickets3 = 40

| bowl avg3 = 22.65

| fivefor3 = 1

| tenfor3 = 0

| best bowling3 = 6/36

| catches/stumpings3 = 0/–

| column4 = T20

| matches4 = 89

| runs4 = 73

| bat avg4 = 4.29

| 100s/50s4 = 0/0

| top score4 = 19*

| deliveries4 = 1,907

| wickets4 = 98

| bowl avg4 = 23.22

| fivefor4 = 1

| tenfor4 = 0

| best bowling4 = 5/19

| catches/stumpings4 = 10/–

| date = 17 October 2023

| source = https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/zahir-khan-712219 ESPNcricinfo

| module = {{Infobox medal templates | titlestyle = background-color: lightsteelblue; | expand=yes

| medals = {{MedalCountry| {{flag|Afghanistan|2013}}}}

}}

Zahir Khan Pakteen ({{langx|ps|{{Nastaliq|ظاهر خان}}}}; born 20 December 1998) is an Afghan cricketer. He made his Test match debut for Afghanistan in September 2019.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/712219.html |title=Zahir Khan |access-date=21 January 2016 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}} He made his first-class debut for Afghanistan against Papua New Guinea in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup on 21 November 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/911053.html |title=ICC Intercontinental Cup, Afghanistan v Papua New Guinea at Sharjah, Nov 21-24, 2015 |access-date=21 January 2016 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}} He represented Afghanistan in the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-under-19-world-cup-2016/content/squad/961493.html |title=Afghanistan U-19s Squad |access-date=8 January 2016 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}}

Domestic career

He made his List A debut for Band-e-Amir Region in the 2017 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament on 10 August 2017.{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1115759.html |title=1st Match, Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament at Khost, Aug 10, 2017 |access-date=10 August 2017 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}} Along with Karim Janat, he was the joint-leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with twelve dismissals.{{cite web |url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=11938;type=tournament |title=2017 Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament: Most Wickets |access-date=19 August 2017 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}} He made his Twenty20 debut for Mis Ainak Knights in the 2017 Shpageeza Cricket League on 12 September 2017.{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1120170.html |title=3rd Match, Shpageeza Cricket League at Kabul, Sep 12 2017 |access-date=12 September 2017 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}}

In August 2018, he joined the English side Lancashire for the rest of the season.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1154625.html |title=Afghanistan spinner Zahir Khan joins Lancashire |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=10 August 2018}} He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2019 Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, with thirty dismissals in five matches.{{cite web|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=12950;type=tournament |title= Records: Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament, 2019, Most wickets |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=2 May 2019}}

T20 franchise career

In September 2018, he was named in Nangarhar's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament.{{cite web|url=https://www.crictracker.com/afghanistan-premier-league-2018-all-you-need-to-know-from-the-player-draft/ |title=Afghanistan Premier League 2018 – All you need to know from the player draft |work=CricTracker |access-date=10 September 2018}} In October 2018, he was named in the squad for the Khulna Titans team, following the draft for the 2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League.{{cite web|url=http://www.tigercricket.com.bd/2018/10/29/full-players-list-of-the-teams-following-players-draft-of-bpl-t20-2018-19/ |title=Full players list of the teams following Players Draft of BPL T20 2018-19 |work=Bangladesh Cricket Board |access-date=29 October 2018}}

In 2018 he signed for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League however he was ruled out of the season due to injury. He played for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League in 2019 and he signed for the Brisbane Heat for the Big Bash League for the 2019-20 season and stated "“This is a very exciting thing for me, especially to be joining the team where my good friend Mujeeb played last year. He told me great things about Brisbane Heat, so I am looking forward to this challenge so much.”{{Cite web |date=18 September 2019 |title=Mujeeb and Zahir Sign

|url=https://www.brisbaneheat.com.au/news/mujeeb-and-zahir-sign/2019-09-18 |access-date=24 January 2021 |website=BrisbaneHeat.com.au}} He did not resign with the Heat for the following season, and head coach Darren Lehmann said the following regarding his time with the club: “On behalf of the club, we really wish Tom and Zahir all the best for what lies ahead with their cricket as they both have enormous potential. . . It was great to see them display their ability and we thoroughly enjoyed having them in the squad. We hope they got plenty out of the experience."{{Cite web |date=13 January 2020|title=INTERNATIONALS WELCOMED

|url=https://www.brisbaneheat.com.au/news/bbl09-heat-vs-strikers-squad-announcement/2020-01-13 |access-date=24 January 2021 |website=BrisbaneHeat.com.au}}

He signed for the Melbourne Stars for the 2020-21 Big Bash season saying “I’m really looking forward to playing for the Stars during this BBL season. The squad is looking strong and I’d like to thank the club for giving me the chance to be part of it. Together I am sure we will build a successful season.”{{Cite web |date=18 November 2020|title=STARS CLINCH ZAHIR KHAN SIGNING|url=https://www.melbournestars.com.au/news/stars-clinch-zahir-khan-signing/2020-11-18 |access-date=24 January 2021 |website=MelbourneStars.com.au}}

International career

In December 2017, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/21701404/mujeeb-zadran-afghanistan-squad-19-world-cup |title=Mujeeb Zadran in Afghanistan squad for Under-19 World Cup |access-date=7 December 2017 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}} In January 2018, he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 IPL auction.{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22218394/ipl-2018-player-auction-list-sold-unsold-players |title=List of sold and unsold players |access-date=27 January 2018 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}}{{cite web |url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/604757 |title=U19 World Cup stars snapped up in IPL auction |access-date=28 January 2018 |work=International Cricket Council}} In December 2018, he was named in Afghanistan's under-23 team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/squad/1167699.html |title=Afghanistan Under-23s Squad |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=3 December 2018}}

In May 2018, he was named in Afghanistan's squad for their inaugural Test match, played against India, but he was not selected for the match.{{cite web|url=http://www.cricket.af/acb-news-info/559 |title= Afghanistan Squads for T20I Bangladesh Series and on-eoff India Test Announced |work=Afghanistan Cricket Board |access-date=29 May 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/1148128.html |title=Afghanistan pick four spinners for inaugural Test |access-date=29 May 2018 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}}

In February 2019, he was named in Afghanistan's One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) squads for their series against Ireland in India.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/25943168/mujeeb-left-ireland-test-shahzad-t20is |title=Mujeeb left out for Ireland Test, Shahzad out of T20Is |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=7 February 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1048994 |title=No Mujeeb in Tests as Afghanistan announce squads for Ireland series |work=International Cricket Council |access-date=7 February 2019}} He made his ODI debut for Afghanistan against Ireland on 10 March 2019.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1168119.html |title=5th ODI (D/N), Ireland tour of India at Dehra Dun, Mar 10 2019 |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=10 March 2019}} Following the conclusion of the ODI series, he was added to Afghanistan's Test squad, for the one-off match against Ireland, but he did not play.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/26236915/afghanistan-add-zahir-khan-sayed-shirzad-test-squad |title=Afghanistan add Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad to Test squad |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=12 March 2019}}

In August 2019, he was named in Afghanistan's Test squad for their one-off match against Bangladesh.{{cite web|url=https://cricket.af/acb-news-info/1114 |title=Afghanistan squads announced for Bangladesh Test and Triangular Series in September |work=Afghan Cricket Board |access-date=20 August 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/27424281/rashid-khan-lead-new-look-afghanistan-bangladesh-test |title=Rashid Khan to lead new-look Afghanistan in Bangladesh Test |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date= 20 August 2019}} He made his Test debut for Afghanistan, in the one-off match against Bangladesh, on 5 September 2019.{{Cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1197138.html |title=Only Test, Afghanistan tour of Bangladesh at Chattogram, Sep 5-9 2019 |access-date=5 September 2019 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}}

In May 2022, he was named as a reserve in Afghanistan's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against Zimbabwe.{{cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/zim-vs-afg-2022-afghanistan-call-up-zia-ur-rehman-akbar-for-odis-in-zimbabwe-gulbadin-naib-dropped-1316434 |title=Afghanistan call up Zia-ur-Rehman Akbar for ODIs in Zimbabwe; Gulbadin dropped |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=24 May 2022}} He made his T20I debut for Afghanistan against UAE on 19 February 2023.{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1357696.html |title=3rd T20I, Abu Dhabi, February 19, 2023, Afghanistan tour of United Arab Emirates |work=ESPN Cricinfo |access-date=19 February 2023}}