Who is Zia-ul-Haq? 5 interesting facts about Texas Super Kings seamer who picked up two wickets in MLC 2024 clash vs LA Knight Riders

Zia-ul-Haq grabbed the headlines on Friday night in Texas with his impressive spell of 2-16 for the Texas Super Kings. Playing in the Major League Cricket 2024 match against Los Angeles Knight Riders, Zia opened the bowling and returned with excellent figures in three overs.

He didn't allow easy runs to Jason Roy and Sunil Narine in the powerplay overs. After Naveen-ul-Haq had also bowled an economical second over, Zia-ul-Haq took advantage of the pressure on the LAKR openers and dismissed both in the third over.

First, he dismissed Jason, caught out before rattling Sunil's stumps. LAKR were down to 5-2 after 2.5 overs. TSK fans enjoyed Zia's bowling, and here are five interesting things to know about the Texas Super Kings' newest star.

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#1 Zia-ul-Haq has represented Pakistan at the U-19 level

Born in the Vehari region of Punjab in Pakistan, Zia grew up playing cricket in his home country. In fact, he even made it to Pakistan's U-19 team and bagged a deal from Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.

Despite being a decent left-arm fast bowling option, Zia could never break into Pakistan's senior team. After playing 77 first-class matches, he quit Pakistan's domestic cricket and moved to the USA, where he's playing in the MLC now.

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#2 Zia-ul-Haq made his first-class debut in 2010

Born on December 11, 1994, Zia has been playing professional cricket for more than a decade. His maiden first-class appearance came for Pakistan International Airlines in a Quaid-e-Azam match against Islamabad in October 2010.

He bagged five wickets on debut. Eventually, Zia called it a day on his first-class career in Pakistan, with 233 wickets in 77 matches, including 12 four-wicket hauls and six five-wicket hauls.

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#3 Zia-ul-Haq made his T20 debut under Kamran Akmal's captaincy

Zia had to wait two years after his first-class debut to start his T20 career. He finally received his maiden T20 cap on March 29, 2010, representing Lahore Lions against Faisalabad Wolves.

Some big names of Pakistan cricket like Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz and Nasir Jamshed played for the Lions in that game. Zia, though, stole the show with a five-wicket haul, helping his team win by 48 runs.

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#4 Zia-ul-Haq played for Pakistan in ICC U19 World Cup 2014

Ten years ago, Zia represented the Pakistan U19s team in the 2014 edition of the ICC U19 World Cup in the UAE. The likes of Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Kamran Ghulam and Sami Aslam were a part of that squad.

Interestingly, Aslam captained the Pakistan team, but even he has moved to the USA now. Aslam played for Texas Super Kings in MLC 2023.

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#5 Zia-ul-Haq hit two sixes against Deepak Hooda in U19 World Cup 2014

Pakistan U19s opened their 2014 U19 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals India U19s. The Boys in Blue emerged victorious, but Zia performed well for his team.

He opened the bowling and scalped the wicket of India captain Vijay Zol. Later in the run-chase, he scored 21 off 16, including two sixes off Deepak Hooda. Eventually, Hooda dismissed him as India U19s won by 40 runs.