Imran Tahir
RSAAbout Imran Tahir
A genius leggie, Imran Tahir is one of the most beloved cricketers in the world who was born in Lahore but went on to represent South Africa at the international level. From working as a retail salesman at a shopping mall in Lahore to making it at the highest level in cricket, Tahir certainly has come a long way.
Tahir played domestic cricket in Pakistan till the mid-2000s before having stints with both Middlesex and Yorkshire and moved to South Africa in 2005. All the struggle finally paid off as he made his international debut in the 2011 World Cup, and from the very onset, it was evident that he was special. The Lahore-born leggie had a potent leg-break, had variations in pace and flight, but his most dangerous weapon was almost certainly the googly.
This Pakistan-born South African cricketer became the World No.1 bowler in the shortest format of the game at the age of 37. Tahir currently plays for South Africa in T20Is while also representing Dolphins in South Africa, Multan Sultans in Pakistan Super League, and Chennai Super Kings in Indian Premier Leagues.
His IPL career took off in 2014 where he represented the Delhi team for two seasons and later joined the Pune squad. The tenth season saw some of the best match-winning performances as Tahir picked a total of 18 wickets in that season for the Chennai Super Kings(CSK) eventually winning the title in 2018.
On 15 June 2016, Tahir became the first South African bowler to take seven wickets in an ODI, and also the fastest South African to reach 100 ODI wickets (58 matches). His most significant spell was his 4 for 45 in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final that knocked Sri Lanka out of the tournament.
It took him six years since his debut to zoom to ICC’s No. 1-ranked spot for bowlers in both ODIs and T20Is. He achieved the latter with 5 for 24 against New Zealand at Auckland in 2016-17, becoming the first South African spinner to take 5 wickets in a T20I.
The veteran announced his retirement from the ODI format after the Proteas failed to make it into the playoffs in the 2019 World Cup. Still a major contributor to the domestic franchise cricket around the world, Tahir has no plan of hanging the boots yet as he is still able to entertain his fans with unique celebrations after picking wickets.
(As of June 2021)
Imran Tahir Recent Form
Batting
Bowling
Imran Tahir Career Stats
Batting
| Format | Mat | Inn | R | 100s | 50s | HS | SR | Avg | Fours | Sixes | Duck |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 107 | 36 | 157 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 69.78 | 7.85 | 21 | 1 | 0 |
| T20I | 38 | 4 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 105.56 | 19.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Test | 20 | 23 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 55.32 | 9.29 | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| IPL | 59 | 9 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 89.19 | 8.25 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| CPL | 90 | 20 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 108.97 | 8.50 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| BPL | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 100.00 | 5.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ABU DHABI | 23 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 150.00 | 9.00 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| PSL | 45 | 11 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 96.67 | 7.25 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 100B | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 300.00 | 6.00 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| WC ODI | 21 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 58.82 | 5.00 | 1 | 0 | -- |
Bowling
| Format | Mat | Inn | W | Econ | Avg | Best | 3W | 5W | SR | Maiden |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 107 | 104 | 173 | 4.65 | 24.84 | 7/45 | 0 | 3 | 32.03 | 0 |
| T20I | 38 | 38 | 63 | 6.73 | 15.05 | 5/23 | 0 | 2 | 13.41 | 0 |
| Test | 20 | 37 | 57 | 3.51 | 40.25 | 8/130 | 0 | 2 | 68.86 | 0 |
| IPL | 59 | 59 | 82 | 7.76 | 20.77 | 4/12 | 1 | 0 | 16.05 | 0 |
| CPL | 90 | 89 | 130 | 6.60 | 17.32 | 5/21 | 13 | 2 | 15.73 | 0 |
| BPL | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6.17 | 12.33 | 5/26 | 0 | 1 | 12.00 | 0 |
| ABU DHABI | 23 | 21 | 14 | 11.90 | 34.86 | 2/25 | 0 | 0 | 17.57 | 0 |
| PSL | 45 | 43 | 56 | 7.01 | 20.04 | 3/7 | 9 | 0 | 17.14 | 0 |
| 100B | 15 | 15 | 12 | 7.47 | 32.25 | 5/25 | 0 | 1 | 21.58 | 0 |
| WC ODI | 21 | 21 | 40 | 4.42 | 21.18 | 5-45 | 6 | 1 | 28.77 | 0 |