Azhar Mahmood and Yasir Arafat lead the way in domestic T20 cricket

Despite perhaps not proving themselves on the international stage for Pakistan, both Azhar Mahmood and Yasir Arafat have produced record breaking T20 careers having played for a number of domestic sides all over the world.

by Shayan Siddiqui (28th July 2013)

When T20 was initially launched in 2003 by the ECB, many felt it would solely be a batsman's game, with the bowlers acting as nothing more than cannon fodder for aggressive batsmen using thicker bats to hit sixes on small grounds. Whilst big hitting has become synonymous with the format, quality bowlers who have the ability to pick up wickets have managed to succeed and played crucial roles, particularly in the death overs. With domestic T20 leagues now prominent in almost every Test nation, fast bowlers from Pakistan have taken a particular liking to the format, with Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Rana Naved, Yasir Arafat and Azhar Mahmood enjoying plenty of success.

The proficiency of Pakistan’s bowling in the T20 format can be demonstrated by looking at the leading wicket takers in domestic T20s. Two of the top five are Pakistanis with Mahmood and Arafat closely following Alfonso Thomas, Dirk Nannes and Lasith Malinga. Arafat has in fact achieved the highest strike rate of the top five, a remarkable feat considering the quality of the other bowlers. He takes a wicket every 15.8 balls, just ahead of Malinga who's strike rate is 16. Malinga is one one of the most feared death bowlers in the world to Arafat's achievement is certainly something to take note of.

Arafat is well known on the English county circuit having had spells at Scotland in 2004 and 2005. He then signed for Sussex in 2006 helping them to the double of the County Championship and C&G Trophy and re-signed for them for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He also had a spell at Kent for the 2007 season before representing Surrey, Sussex and now Somerset.

The fact that Mahmood and Arafat have represented eleven and twelve teams respectively in T20s shows that they are in high demand all over the world. The majority of their success has come in the Friends Life T20 competition in England, heading the most wickets list by some distance with Arafat also in second place in the current season with 19 wickets.

Arafat in fact has has the unique record of being the first ever to cross 100 wickets in England's T20 history , and is the highest wicket taker in England's domestic T20 so far with 120 county T20 wickets followed by Mahmood with 113. The nearest bowler to the pair is Andrew Hall who is far behind with 95 wickets.

Azhar Mahmood has represented Wayamba United at the Sri Lankan Premier League, Kings XI Punjab at the Indian Premier League, Dhaka Gladiators at the Bangladesh Premier League, Auckland Aces at the HRV Cup and Kent and Surrey at the Friends Life T20. He has also been seen in action for New Zealand’s Auckland Aces at the CLT20.

Pakistani fans will be aware that both Azhar Mahmood and Yasir Arafat aren't just bowlers, they also have some ability with the bat. They are the only cricketers with 200 T20 wickets and 1000 T20 runs, making them invaluable to the numerous teams they have represented. Both manage to score runs at a decent pace, another crucial requirement of T20s which further increases the likelihood of domestic teams snapping them up at the earliest opportunity.

Despite starting their international careers with promise, neither player perhaps fulfilled his potential in the national colours of Pakistan. Mahmood averaged just 18 with the bat and 39 with the ball in ODIs, while Arafat played just three Tests and eleven ODIs taking just thirteen wickets in total. Despite this though, both have carved out more than respectable careers for themselves in the shortest format of the game for domestic sides the world over.

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Azhar Mahmood and Yasir Arafat lead the way in domestic T20 cricket

by Shayan Siddiqui (28th July 2013)

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