Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir
Tahir playing for South Africa against Somerset in July 2012
Personal information
Full name
Mohammad Imran Tahir
Born (1979-03-27) 27 March 1979 (age 45)
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm leg break
RoleBowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 310)9 November 2011 v Australia
Last Test3 December 2015 v India
ODI debut (cap 102)24 February 2011 v West Indies
Last ODI6 July 2019 v Australia
ODI shirt no.99
T20I debut (cap 58)2 August 2013 v Sri Lanka
Last T20I19 March 2019 v Sri Lanka
T20I shirt no.99
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1996/97–2005/06Lahore[a]
1997/98–1998/99WAPDA
2001/02–2003/04Sui Northern Gas
2004/05–2006/07PIA
2007/08–2009/10Titans
2008–2014Hampshire
2008/09–2009/10Easterns
2010/11–2019/20Dolphins
2012/13–2013/14Lions
2014–2016Delhi Daredevils
2015–2016Nottinghamshire
2018, 2020–2022Multan Sultans
2018–2021Chennai Super Kings
2018–2023Guyana Amazon Warriors
2018–2019Nelson Mandela Bay Giants
2021–2022Birmingham Phoenix
2023–presentKarachi Kings (squad no. 99)
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC
Matches 20 107 38 194
Runs scored 130 157 19 2,617
Batting average 9.28 7.85 19.00 14.22
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/4
Top score 29* 29 9* 77*
Balls bowled 3,925 5,541 845 38,291
Wickets 57 173 63 784
Bowling average 40.24 24.83 15.04 26.63
5 wickets in innings 2 3 2 53
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 11
Best bowling 5/32 7/45 5/23 8/42
Catches/stumpings 8/– 25/– 7/– 82/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 24 July 2019

Mohammad Imran Tahir (Punjabi: عمران طاہر; born 27 March 1979) is a South African former international cricketer. A spin bowler who predominantly bowls googlies and a right-handed batsman, Tahir played for South Africa in all three formats of cricket.

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).[1] He is currently South Africa's leading wicket-taker among spin bowlers in both ODIs and T20Is.

On 17 February 2017, Tahir became the fastest South African to reach 50 T20I wickets. On 4 March 2017, against New Zealand he recorded the most economical figures by a South African spinner in an ODI, with 2 wickets for 14 runs from 10 overs.[2]

On 3 October 2018, he became the fourth bowler for South Africa to take a hat-trick in ODIs.[3] In March 2019, he announced that he would quit ODI cricket following the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[4]

He represented his eighth English county club, when he joined Surrey in 2019, thus setting a new record.

He is widely known for his running celebration after every wicket he takes, known as The Marathon.[5][2]


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  1. ^ "Tahir, Amla lead South Africa to another bonus-point win". ESPNcricinfo. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Tahir tops economy rates for South African spinners". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Who are SA's three other ODI hat-trick heroes?". SA Cricket Mag. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Imran Tahir to quit ODI cricket after World Cup". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Imran Tahir reveals the reason behind his trademark sprint celebration". www.sportskeeda.com. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2019.