Full Name
|
Mohammad Junaid Khan
|
Born
|
24 December 1989 (age 26) |Matra,
North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
|
Height
|
6 ft 0 in (1.82 m)
|
Batting-style
|
Right-hand bat
|
Bowling-style
|
Left-arm fast
|
Role
|
Bowler
|
Profile
At U-19 level Junaid Khan was among of a crop of
the most promising young fast bowlers in recent years, alongside
Mohammad Amir. Good pace and better stamina and an ability to move the
ball around if the conditions are right, Khan finally made it to
national contention when he was called up for Pakistan's 2011 World Cup
squad as a late replacement for Sohail Tanvir. His Test debut, against
Zimbabwe in 2011, was uneventful, but in his second Test he showed his
class with a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka on a flat surface in Abu
Dhabi.
Next year he was even more impressive in both Tests
and ODIs, as he enhanced his reputation as an extremely skillful swing
and seam bowler, who was also pacy and accurate. In three Tests in Sri
Lanka, he took 14 wickets at 21.78, twice taking five-fors and achieving
an outstanding strike rate of 43 balls per wicket. In the three-match
ODI series in India, he troubled all the top Indian batsmen, taking
eight wickets at an economy rate of 3.66.
Junaid is from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and
has built up an impressive domestic career with Abbottabad, for whom he
debuted in January 2007. The record acquires greater sheen given that
Abbottabad are among the weaker sides on the circuit. Those performances
led him to Pakistan A selection, for whom he was impressive in two
series, never more than when taking nine wickets in a 'Test' against Sri
Lanka A in Hambantota in September 2010.