Name: Mohammad Talha

Birth date: 1988-10-15

Hometown: Faisalabad

Teams: Pakistan, Faisalabad, Faisalabad Wolves, National Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan Under-19s, Punjab Stallions

Debut: 1st March 2009

ODI Best:

Test Best: 1-88

Mohammad Talha is a 20 year old, tall, right arm fast bowler from Faisalabad. He first came to the attentions of Pakistani cricket fans when he impressed at the age of 16 in a National Pace Competition set up by the PCB in conjunction with Pepsi.

This attention resulted in him being brought into the Pakistan U19 squad where he participated in a number of tournaments. He has played for both Faisalabad Wolves and the Punjab Stallions in domestic cricket where he impressed with his speed and wicket taking ability. In 2008/9 Talha excelled for National Bank of Pakistan in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy alongside young pace prospect Mohammad Aamer.

This good form resulted in him being called up to the Pakistan Test squad for the home series against Sri Lanka in Feb-March 2009. Talha was overlooked for the 1st test but he gained his one and only cap in the 2nd test at Lahore. Talha struggled in the 1st innings, his 17 overs going for 88 runs whilst picking up a solitary wicket. His action was heavily scrutinised and people questioned the work done by the coaches on him. Unfortunately the Test match was abandoned on the 3rd day after the terrorist attacks on the SL players so we did not get to see Talha bowl again.

He has since returned to the domestic circuit and continued to pick up wickets. He has recently been working on his action and his runup (modelling it on Brett Lee) and is hopeful he can return to the Pakistan side soon.