Hamza Tahir

Hamza Tahir
Personal information
Born (1995-11-09) 9 November 1995 (age 28)
Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
BattingRight-handed
BowlingSlow left-arm orthodox
RoleSpin bowler
RelationsMajid Haq (cousin)
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 69)17 August 2019 v PNG
Last ODI17 February 2023 v Nepal
T20I debut (cap 49)12 June 2018 v Pakistan
Last T20I14 March 2024 v UAE
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I LA T20
Matches 31 17 32 17
Runs scored 26 3 26 3
Batting average 4.33 3.00 3.71 3.00
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 13 3* 13 3*
Balls bowled 1,316 372 1,508 372
Wickets 40 23 40 23
Bowling average 25.82 22.26 26.60 22.26
5 wickets in innings 1 0 1 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 5/38 4/30 5/38 4/30
Catches/stumpings 5/– 5/– 5/– 5/–
Source: Cricinfo, 5 August 2024

Hamza Tahir (born 9 November 1995) is a former Scottish cricketer.[1][2] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Scotland against Pakistan on 12 June 2018.[3] He made his List A debut for Scotland against Oman on 20 February 2019, following the 2018–19 Oman Quadrangular Series. He was born in Paisley to Pakistani parents.[4]

In June 2019, he was selected to represent Scotland A in their tour to Ireland to play the Ireland Wolves.[5] The next month, he was selected to play for the Glasgow Giants in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament.[6][7] However, the following month the tournament was cancelled.[8]

He was part of Scotland's One Day International (ODI) squad for the 2019 Scotland Tri-Nation Series.[9] He made his ODI debut for Scotland, against Papua New Guinea, on 17 August 2019.[10] In his next match, against Oman, he took his first five-wicket haul in ODI cricket.[11][12]

In September 2019, he was named in Scotland's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[13] In September 2021, Tahir was named in Scotland's provisional squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[14]

In June 2024, Tahir announced his retirement at age 28 from professional cricket after being dismissed from the Scotland national team. He blamed racism as the reason for his retirement. He also threatened to take legal action against Cricket Scotland. A spokesperson for Cricket Scotland said Tahir was a "tremendous servant to the Scotland men's national team."[15]

  1. ^ "Hamza Tahir". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Hamza Tahir, Scotland – Age: 25". Emerging Cricket. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. ^ "1st T20I, Pakistan tour of Ireland, England and Scotland at Edinburgh, Jun 12 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. ^ "2nd Match, Scotland tour of Oman at Al Amarat, Feb 20 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Scotland A Squad Selected for Ireland Trip". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Eoin Morgan to represent Dublin franchise in inaugural Euro T20 Slam". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Euro T20 Slam Player Draft completed". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Inaugural Euro T20 Slam cancelled at two weeks' notice". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Scotland squad announced for Cricket World Cup League Two". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  10. ^ "13rd Match, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 at Aberdeen, Aug 17 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Cricket World Cup League 2: Scotland beat Oman by 85 runs". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Five-star Tahir sees Scotland to victory". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Squads announced for T20I Tri-Series in Ireland and ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Captain Coetzer leads Scotland squad to ICC Men's T20 World Cup". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Bowler in legal threat over Cricket Scotland racism allegation". www.bbc.com. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.