Rana Faheem Ashraf (; born 16 January 1994) is a Pakistani international

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who represents the national side and plays

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

. In August 2018, he was one of thirty-three players to be awarded a central contract for the 2018–19 season by the

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...

(PCB). Rana Faheem Ashraf is the first Pakistani to take a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in the T20 format of the game. His heroics on the pitch earned him the nickname "Rana Faheem Stokes" by the Pakistani cricket fans.

Early life and career

Born into a Muslim Rajput family in Phool Nagar, a town located in

Kasur Kasur (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; also Romanization, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to the south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city s ...

, Punjab, his father Rana Muhammad Ashraf is an influential lawyer. He has two sisters and six brothers. Faheem began his professional cricket journey in 2010 by playing in the inter-district Under-19 competition in the Faisalabad region. Later, he played for the Faisalabad Under-19 team before being remarked in 2013, when he played at senior district-level tournament for Kasur, eventually integrating the Faisalabad team for the 2013–14 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Domestic career

Faheem scored a century on his first-class debut in 2013–14. He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2016–17 Departmental One Day Cup, taking 19 wickets. He was also the leading wicket-taker for

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in the

2017 Pakistan Cup The 2017 Pakistan Cup was the second edition of the Pakistan Cup, a List A cricket competition. It was held from 16 to 29 April 2017, with all the matches played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi. It was contested between five team ...

, with eight dismissals in four matches. In September 2019, he was named in Central Punjab's squad for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament.

International career

In March 2017, Faheem was named in Pakistan's

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

(ODI) squad for their series against the West Indies, although he did not play. In April 2017, he was named in Pakistan's ODI squad for the

2017 ICC Champions Trophy The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in England and Wales from 1 to 18 J ...

. In an ICC Champions Trophy warm-up match against

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, Ashraf scored 64 runs in Pakistan's two-wicket win. He made his ODI debut for Pakistan against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in the Champions Trophy on 12 June 2017, dismissing Dinesh Chandimal for his first ODI wicket. He made his

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

(T20I) debut for Pakistan against a World XI in the 2017 Independence Cup on 12 September 2017. On 27 October 2017, he took a

for Pakistan in the second T20I match against Sri Lanka at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium,

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helping team seal a series lead and became the first bowler for Pakistan, and sixth player overall, to take a hat-trick in a T20I. In April 2018, he was named in Pakistan's

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squad for their tours to

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and

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in May 2018. He made his Test debut for Pakistan, against Ireland, on 11 May 2018. In July 2018, he took his first five-wicket haul in ODIs, against Zimbabwe, at the

Queens Sports Club Queens Sports Club Ground is a stadium in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It is used primarily used for cricket matches. The stadium has a capacity of up to 13,000. The stadium is the home ground for the Matabeleland Tuskers, who are the current Logan ...

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. The following month, he was named the PCB's Emerging Player of the Year. In April 2019, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the

2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament was hosted bet ...

. However, on 20 May 2019, he was dropped from Pakistan's squad, after they announced their final team for the tournament. In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In July, he was shortlisted in Pakistan's 20-man squad for the Test matches against England. In January 2021, he was named in Pakistan's

squad for their series against South Africa. In the first Test, Ashraf scored 64 with the bat.

T20 franchise career

PSL career

In November 2017, he was drafted in by

Islamabad United Islamabad United () is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and was formed in 2015 to compete in the first ...

from Gold category (earning between US$50,000-US$60,000) in the 2018 Pakistan Super League players draft. Faheem played an integral part in team's winning the 2018 season. Faheem took 18 wickets and scored runs in crucial moments for his side. He was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament and won the best bowler of the season award at the end of the season along with a maroon cap. In December 2021, he was signed by

following the players' draft for the 2022 Pakistan Super League.

Other leagues

In September 2018, he was named in Paktia's squad in the

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of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament. In July 2022, he was signed by the Galle Gladiators for the third edition of the

Lanka Premier League The Lanka Premier League (abbreviated as LPL; , ) is a professional franchise cricket league established in 2020 in Sri Lanka. Matches are played using the Twenty20 cricket format by five teams named after Sri Lankan cities. The league was int ...

. In August 2022, he was signed by Hobart Hurricanes for BBL 12. Faheem Ashraf has been appointed as the captain to lead Pakistan in the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashraf, Faheem 1994 births Living people People from Kasur District Pakistani cricketers Pakistan Test cricketers Pakistan One Day International cricketers Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen Central Punjab cricketers Faisalabad cricketers Habib Bank Limited cricketers Hobart Hurricanes cricketers Islamabad United cricketers National Bank of Pakistan cricketers Punjab (Pakistan) cricketers St Kitts and Nevis Patriots cricketers Twenty20 International hat-trick takers Fortune Barishal cricketers