Sohail Tanvir

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sohail Tanvir

• Sohail Tanvir is a former Pakistani cricketer, who played for the Pakistan National Cricket Team as a bowler. He is known for his prolific performance in the Twenty20 format of Cricket. Sohail was a part of the Pakistan National Cricket Team that won the ICC World Twenty20 Championship in 2009.

• He grew up in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan.

• He started his career as a cricketer in 2004 by playing for Rawalpindi. He played first class matches for Rawalpindi in 2004, 2005, 2017, and 2018.

• Sohail Tanvir played his first T20 match for Rawalpindi Rams against Quetta Bears at Lahore on 25 April 2005.

• A year later, on 8 March 2006, Sohail played his first List A match for Rawalpindi Rams against Zebras at Rawalpindi.

• From 2005 to 2007, Sohail played List A matches for Rawalpindi Rams. He then played the List A matches for Khan Research Laboratories till 2009.

• In 2006-07, Sohail represented Punjab in the first class matches. In the same year, he also played a few first class matches for Attock Group.

• In October 2007, Sohail Tanvir was included in the Pakistan One Day International squad for their series against South Africa. He played his first One Day International for Pakistan against South Africa at Lahore on 18 October 2007.

• Later, he was selected for Pakistan’s tour of India, where he played a few one-day international matches and claimed eight wickets.

• Tanvir was named in Pakistan’s squad for the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, replacing Shoaib Akhtar in the tournament. He played his first T20 International match on 14 September 2007 for Pakistan against India at Durban. He claimed six wickets in six matches of the tournament. His best bowling figures in the tournament were 3 for 31 in four overs against Australia. Although he played six matches in the tournament, he got the chance to bat only in the final match of the tournament, where he hit a six in the first ball.

• In 2007, he was included in the Pakistan National Squad for their Test series against India. He was selected in place of Umar Gul in the series, who was injured. He played his debut Test match on 22 November 2007 for Pakistan against India at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, Delhi (now Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, Delhi). In the match, he made three dismissals including Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

• On 26 April 2008, Sohail played his debut Indian Premier League match for Rajasthan Royal against Royal Challengers Bangalore at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

• In the 2008 Asia Cup, Sohail scored 59 runs off 55 balls in his first match for Pakistan against Hong Kong in Karachi. It was his maiden ODI 50. Although, Pakistan top order batsman struggled to stand the balls of Hong Kong bowlers, he made a partnership of 100 runs with Fawad Alam helping Pakistan to make a respectable score of 288 runs. He then represented Pakistan in a match against Sri Lanka, where he took his first five-wicket haul. He ended at 5/48 in 10 overs.

• In 2008, he represented South Australia in a few T20 matches.

• Sohail took a year break after participating in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 because of his injuries.

• In 2011, Sohail played for Sylhet Royals in the Bangladesh Premier League

• In 2012, he made a place for himself in the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited team for playing List A matches. He played for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited till 2015.

• In 2013, Sohail Tanvir played for Hampshire in the County Championship.

• He then represented Pakistan in the 2013-14 World Cup for Pakistan.

• In the 2015-16 season of the Bangladesh Premier League, Sohail represented Sylhet Superstars

• A year later, he played for Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League. He then represented Sylhet Sixers in the Bangladesh Premier League.

• Sohail Tanvir played for St Lucia Zouks in the 2014 season of the Caribbean Premier League.

• In 2015, he played for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League.

• He has also represented Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL.

• In 2015, Sohail was signed by Karachi Kings for the Pakistan Super League. He then represented Lahore Qalandars in the 2016-17 season of the Pakistan Super League. He has also played for the Pakistan Super League franchises Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators.

• He has played a few cricket matches for Hampshire and Somerset in the Twenty20 Blast championship.

• In the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Sohail has represented many teams including Rawalpindi, Khan Research Laboratories, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited, and Northern.

• Some of the other cricket teams for whom Sohail Tanvir has played include Rawalpindi Under-19, Attock Refinery Limited, Pakistan Cricket Academy, Imtiaz Ahmed’s XI, Pakistan Cricket Board Patron’s XI, Brothers Union, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman’s XI, Pakistan Cricket Board Blues, Pakistan Cricket Board Greens, Kerala Kings, City Kaitak, Edmonton Royals, Desert Riders, Qalandars, Muzzaffarabad Tigers, Asia Lions, and Texas Chargers.

• Some of the teams whom Sohail represented in the first-class matches include Khan Research Laboratories, Federal Areas, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited, and Hampshire.

• He has played T20 matches for the domestic teams Sylhet Royals, Lions, Hampshire, St Lucia Zouks, Somerset, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Rawalpindi, Sylhet Superstars, Karachi Kings, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Comilla Victorians, Lahore Qalandars, Sylhet Sixers, Multan Sultans, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Quetta Gladiators, Northern, Pakistan, and Kandurata Warriors.

• Sohail has represented many teams in List A matches including Hampshire, Rawalpindi, Baluchistan, Punjab, and Northern. He has also played a few List-A matches for Pakistan A, Federal Areas Leopards, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi, and Federal United.

• In 2023, Sohail was featured in the cricket special talk and game show ‘The Fourth Umpire.’ The show was aired on ARY Digital.

• He then appeared as a contestant on the Pakistani reality TV show The Ultimate Muqabla 2 (2023) which aired on ARY Digital.

• In his spare time, Sohail loves to travel.

• A fitness enthusiast, Sohail works out at a gym regularly.

• His projects are managed by Ameem Haq.

• He resides with his family in Islamabad, Pakistan (as of 2023).

• In an interview, Sohail revealed that he was referred to as a ‘Pankha’ by a city selector’ because of his wrong-footed action in a match at the beginning of his career.

• In 2008, Sohail became the first cricketer to win a Purple Cap in the Indian Premier League in 2008, while playing for Rajasthan Royals.

• Sohail Tanvir was included in the Pakistan selection committee headed by former cricketer Kamran Akmal in January 2023 for domestic age-group teams, where he conducted trials for the selection of the U-13, U-16 and U-19 regional and district sides.