Saqlain Mushtaq

Saqlain Mushtaq (born 29 December 1976) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer who was the head coach of the Pakistani national cricket team between 2021 and 2022.

He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", a leg break delivery bowled with an off break action.

He was the fastest to reach the milestones of 200 and 250 wickets in ODIs.

Saqlain was born to a government clerk on 29 December 1976, in Lahore into a Punjabi Muslim family.

His ancestral home is in village Chali Khoo in Amritsar district of East Punjab, now in India.

He has two elder brothers: Sibtain, who also played first-class cricket for Lahore, and Zulqurnain.

Saqlain played for Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore for three years and won the championship each year.

Saqlain never played cricket at school level, but started playing for Zareef Memorial Cricket Club Second Eleven when he was only 13.

He always wanted to be an off-spinner: "I never wanted to be a quick bowler. I was very skinny and never had too much strength in the body."

Saqlain was coached by Ahmad Hassan and his brothers at the club level.

At the age of 14, he went to the Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore, where he was coached by Mumtaz Akhtar Butt.

He played for the college and won the championship for three consecutive years.

Saqlain started his first-class career in 1994–95 at the age of 17.

In his first season, he took 52 wickets and was selected to play for Pakistan A in a one-day tournament at Dhaka.

A right-arm off break bowler, Saqlain played 49 Test matches and 169 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Pakistan between 1995 and 2004.

In September 1995, he got international recognition, taking seven wickets for the PCB Patron's Eleven against the visiting Sri Lankans.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said of him that he was "the greatest off-spinner he has seen" and "as aggressive as a fast bowler, not afraid of getting hit, and has this total belief in himself."

Saqlain made his Test debut in September 1995 against Sri Lanka at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar.

Saqlain represented Surrey for eight successive seasons from 1997 to 2004.

Saqlain Mushtaq married Sana Mushtaq, a British Pakistani, in December 1998.

Mushtaq made history when he became the first Pakistani to take a hat-trick at a Cricket World Cup, which he did against Zimbabwe during the 1999 tournament.

He took 208 Test and 288 ODI wickets and also scored a Test match century, against New Zealand, in March 2001.

However, his time was interrupted there and his international career with Pakistan effectively ended in 2004.

In August 2005, he played his first match against Bangladesh A after recovering from injury and took 4–87 from 35 overs over two innings.

However, that same week, in his return to the County Championship, he conceded 110 off 28 overs against Gloucestershire, taking just one wicket.

In February 2006 he signed for Ireland for the C&G Trophy, along with teammate Abdul Razzaq.

He received his British passport in 2007.

His daughter, Malika, is married to Pakistani cricketer Shadab Khan.

Later, in February 2007, Sussex announced that Saqlain had signed a two-year contract with them.

His initial requirement was to cover for fellow Pakistanis Mushtaq Ahmed and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who were part of Pakistan's World Cup campaign.

On 26 September 2007, Saqlain was released by the county on his request.

On 8 October 2007, Saqlain was re-signed by Surrey.

On 28 October, according to ESPNcricinfo, he was released by Surrey.

In April 2009 he joined Old Whitgiftians CC to play in the Surrey Championship.

He took 64 wickets in his first season, including five 5-wicket hauls, to earn Whits promotion to the first division.

He was also involved in the youth setup.

In 2010, after relocating to Leicestershire, he joined Syston Town Cricket Club, playing in the Everards County League.

In late 2010, he was training in Taunton at the facilities of Somerset County Cricket Club, whom he has now joined as a temporary spin-bowling coach for the 2011 Caribbean Twenty20 competition.

On 11 April 2013, it was announced that Saqlain would be joining Birmingham League Division Three Side Evesham for the 2013 Season.

Until 2016, Saqlain was the fastest bowler in the history of ODI cricket to take 100 wickets.