UMAR GUL

A fast bowler whose reputation has been forged in white-ball where the ability to bowl a pinpoint yorker which made him a key part of the Pakistan side which won the 2009 World T20 and a regular in one-day cricket until around 2012 when injuries started to take their toll. Omission from the 2015 World Cup suggested his career was fading, but he was recalled a year later.

Gul had played just nine first-class matches when called up for national duty in the wake of Pakistan’s poor 2003 World Cup. On the flat tracks of Sharjah, Gul performed admirably, maintaining excellent discipline and getting appreciable outswing with the new ball.

He isn’t express but bowls a very quick heavy ball and his exceptional control and ability to extract seam movement marks him out. His first big moment in his career came in the Lahore Test against India in 2003-04. Unfazed by a daunting batting line-up, Gul tore through the Indian top order, moving the ball both ways off the seam at a sharp pace. His 5 for 31 in the first innings gave Pakistan the early initiative which they drove home to win the Test.