Shabbir Ahmed (cricketer)

Shabbir Ahmed Khan (Urdu: شببر احمد خان; born 21 April 1976, in Khanewal) is a Pakistani former cricketer who played for the Pakistani national cricket team between 2003 and 2007 before got banned for an illegal bowling action.^[1]

Shabbir Ahmed

Personal information
Full name	Shabbir Ahmed
Born	(1976-04-21) 21 April 1976 (age 46) Khanewal, Punjab, Pakistan
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast-medium
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	Pakistan (2003–2007)
Test debut (cap 174)	20 August 2003 v Bangladesh
Last Test	12 November 2005 v England
ODI debut (cap 127)	19 September 1999 v West Indies
Last ODI	22 May 2005 v West Indies
Only T20I (cap 14)	2 February 2007 v South Africa
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODIs FC LA Matches 10 32 100 128 Runs scored 88 10 1,144 474 Batting average 8.80 1.66 10.49 10.53 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/1 0/0 Top score 24* 2 50 42 Balls bowled 2,576 1,642 18,713 6,573 Wickets 51 53 406 167 Bowling average 23.03 36.12 22.32 28.92 5 wickets in innings 2 0 19 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 5/48 3/32 7/70 4/23 Catches/stumpings 3/- 10/– 34/– 26/–
Source: Cricinfo, 10 December 2013

He was a line-and-length pace bowler who took eight wickets for 109 runs on his Test debut against Bangladesh in the first of their 2003–04 three-Test series, including five wickets in the second innings.^[2] He also had an impressive start to his One-Day International career after picking up three wickets (all three bowled out) with two wickets in his first over, in his debut against the West Indies at Toronto.^[3][4]

Style

Shabbir Ahmed is a tall (6'5"), Pakistani fast bowler. He extracts a great deal of bounce, even on lifeless wickets, and bowling from close to the stumps – much like Glenn McGrath – allows him to stick to a tight wicket-to-wicket line. He seams and cuts more than he swings, often sharply and both ways and is a sound exponent of reverse swing.^[5]

One year ban

Shabbir had taken 51 wickets in 10 tests, when in 2005 after playing the first Test against England he was reported to the ICC for an illegal bowling action. Following an investigation into his action, Ahmed was banned from cricket for one year in December 2005.^[6][7][8]

Return to cricket

As of 21 December 2006, having completed his one-year term, Shabbir was once again eligible to play International Cricket. However, the clause was that if Shabbir was reported again, he would be suspended from bowling at international level until his action is reassessed.^[9][10]

Shabbir played in the Pakistani domestic competition till 2013 after which he called it quits.^[11]

See also

• List of Pakistan cricketers who have taken five-wicket hauls on Test debut

References

1. Shabir Ahmad Crickter Unfold Story (sic) on YouTube
2. "1st Test: Pakistan v Bangladesh at Karachi, Aug 20–24, 2003". espncricinfo. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
3. "Pace like fire | Report | Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo". Content-pak.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
4. "3rd ODI: Pakistan v West Indies at Toronto, Sep 19, 1999 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo". Content-pak.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
5. "Shabbir Ahmed | Cricket Players and Officials". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
6. "Shabbir has action cleared | Pakistan Cricket News". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
7. "Elliott to reassess Shabbir's action | Pakistan Cricket News". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
8. "Shabbir eager to iron out the kinks | Pakistan Cricket News". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
9. "Shabbir relieved as ICC lifts action ban | Pakistan Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo". Content-pak.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
10. "ICC receives report on Shabbir's action | Pakistan Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo". Content-pak.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
11. "Shabbir Ahmed Profile - ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats".