Tag: Usman Khan

RAWALPINDI: Right-handed opening batter Usman Khan, a part of Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, opened up about the struggles, he faced in his career.

Hailing from Farooqabad, Usman initially moved to Sheikupura before settling in Karachi, with the hope that his talents would be better acknowledged and his career would develop.

“My brother was a first-class cricketer and played for The Karachi Port Trust (KPT). I also played for them and in my early stages of the career where I would stay in a complex and carry on with my cricket duties,” shared Usman in a video released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Despite striving hard in the metropolitan city and participation in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the right-handed batter could not make ends meet and thus opted to relocate to Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), move Ajman (UAE) where he could work and play cricket.

“I worked as a labourer at Ajman Gas while continuing to play cricket. The support from the owner was instrumental in our team winning numerous local tournaments,” shared Usman.

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The turning point of Usman Khan’s career came in 2022 when he became the local player of the T10 league and subsequently came under the radar of Andy Flower.

“Andy Flower saw me in T10 and on the basis of performances there, I played in Multan Sultans as a local player in PSL 2023.

Usman was then contracted with the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and represented Sultans as a foreign player.

Following the conclusion of the PSL 2024, Usman Khan was approached by the PCB to consider representing his homeland.

He opted to pursue his childhood dream and was subsequently named in the Pakistan squad for the New Zealand series.

As a result, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) slapped a five-year ban on Usman over “breaching his obligations” owed to the cricketing body.

The sanction imposed will prohibit Usman from participating in any ECB tournaments for the next five years.

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Right-handed opener Usman Khan has been banned for a five-year period by the Emirate Cricket Board (ECB) over “breaching his obligations” owed to the cricketing body.

The ECB, after a detailed investigation, claimed to have found Usman Khan misinterpreted his decision to play for the UAE national men’s cricket team.

“After a detailed investigation, Usman was found to have misrepresented to ECB about his decision to play for the UAE team and has used the opportunities and development provided by the ECB to him to seek out other prospects and it was evident that he was no longer wanting to play for ECB nor complete the eligibility criteria which he was under an obligation to do,” ECB said in a statement.

“Usman participated in the ECB Sanctioned International League T20 Season 2 earlier this year in the UAE Category as a local player.

“The ECB also entered into an ECB Employment Contract with Usman for a period of one year. This was done to give him security and allow him to fulfil his eligibility criteria that would allow him to represent UAE in international cricket.”

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The sanction imposed will prohibit Usman from participating in any ECB tournaments for the next five years.

“Usman is found to have breached his obligations owed to ECB and will therefore not be allowed to participate in ECB sanctioned tournaments/leagues as well as local events organized under the aegis of councils/academies in UAE for a period of five years,” ECB concluded.

For the unversed, Usman Khan, who played the previous two editions of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as an overseas player, impressed with his consistent batting exploits and was thus approached by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to consider representing his homeland.

He was subsequently named among the 29 players participating in the ongoing physical fitness camp, being held in collaboration with the Pakistan Army at Kakul, Abbottabad.

The ongoing camp is slated to conclude on April 8 and the details suggest that the Pakistan squad for the upcoming five-match home T20I series against New Zealand will be shortlisted from the 29 probables.

It is worth mentioning here that Usman Khan only participated in the UAE’s domestic tournaments and was yet to make his international debut for the country.

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Multan Sultans top-order batter Usman Khan has recently opened up about playing under the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Usman Khan represented Quetta Gladiators under Sarfaraz Ahmed during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season six in 2021 before making a move to Multan Sultans, under the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan, in 2023.

During an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Khan was asked to rate the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed, considering his experience of playing under both captains.

The 28-year-old batter pointed out that both captains are similar tactically however the major difference between them is the way they express their emotions during crunch stages.

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“In some ways, they’re similar, in terms of their tactics and how they want to win games. Saifi bhai [Sarfaraz Ahmed] is a little more emotional and at times tenses up,” said Usman Khan.

“Rizwan bhai never blames a player or scolds them if they’ve gone for runs. No one gets told they’ve cost the team a game,” he added.

“Strategically they’re not dissimilar, but the way they react emotionally and psychologically to on-field events can be quite different,” he concluded.

Usman Khan is having a spectacular season for Multan Sultans in the ongoing PSL 9, sitting in the third position in the top run-scorers chart.

He has scored 373 runs in six innings, including two centuries and one half-century at a brilliant strike rate of 168.01.

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