Young Pakistan spinner Sufiyan Muqeem etched his name in record books during the second T20I against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, December 3 at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. The left-arm spinner registered the best bowling figures for Pakistan in T20Is as he ran through the Zimbabwe batting line up. Muqeem picked up his maiden five wicket haul registering figures of 5/3 in 2.4 overs as he helped bundle out Zimbabwe for their lowest T20I score of 57.
Courtesy of his effort, Pakistan had no issues chasing down the small target in the second innings and won the match by ten wickets in just 5.3 overs. Muqeem was deservedly awarded Player of the Match playing his seventh T20I. The 25-year-old made his international debut during the Asian Games 2023 against Hong Kong.
He had a good outing in his maiden international match picking 2/11 in four overs and finished the tournament with four wickets from three matches. He recently played in the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup and scalped six wickets from four matches at an average of 14.50 and an economy of 5.80 which included figures of 2/28 vs India A.
Earlier, he represented Dolphins in the Pakistan’s domestic List A tournament the Champions One Day Cup but failed to impress picking just two wickets from three matches. However, he proved his worth in the T20I series against Australia in November where he registered figures of 2/21 in the second T20I which included big scalps of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
Muqeem played for Peshawar Zalmi in PSL
Muqeem further started the Zimbabwe series on a great note finishing as the pick of the bowlers for Pakistani in the first T20I with figures of 3/20 in four overs. Following his five wicket haul in the second game, he’s the leading wicket taker of the series with eight wickets from two matches at an average of 2.87 and an economy of 3.45.
He figures of 5/3 helped him surpass Umar Gul’s best figures of 5/6, registered on two separate occasions in 2009 and 2013, and register the best T20I bowling figures for his country. Muqeem has 14 wickets in his T20I career so far after he was fast tracked into the national side after playing just five matches in the PSL (Pakistan Super League) for Peshawar Zalmi.
The youngster could only pick four wickets from five matches for his team. Muqeem is yet to make his first class debut but has shown his bowling prowess in the limited opportunities so far. With Pakistan searching for a good spinner in the longest format, Muqeem could well be an exciting prospect for the Men in Green with him being just 25 years old.