Najaf Shah

Najaf Shah (, born 17 December 1984) is a Pakistani former cricketer who played for Rawalpindi region and Pakistan International Airlines and various international franchise leagues. He played his first One Day International game against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2007. He is a left-arm medium-fast bowler with the ability to bat in the lower order. He has played 134 first-class cricket matches and taken over 477 wickets, with a career best of 7 for 57 for Pakistan International Airlines against National Bank of Pakistan in the semi-final of the Patron's Trophy in 2004–05. Currently, Najaf lives in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Early and personal life

Najaf belongs to Gujar Khan. He started his early cricketing career at school level with taped tennis ball, it is quite normal in this part of world to start with tape/tennis ball rather than full cricket gear. Through initial school competitions he was spotted to be high potential talent. After completion of school education he took admission in Sarwar Shaheed College in intermediate level. He was selected captain of college cricket team, which under his captaincy won some major tournaments. In 2000-01 he moved to Rawalpindi from Gujar Khan for higher education. After moving to Rawalpindi he joined Gull Cricket Club and that was a turning point of his career and started cricket as a professional.

Playing career

Pakistan national domestic matches Najaf Shah has been playing First-class cricket in Pakistan since 2001. He has played for various teams but his major teams are Rawalpindi region and Pakistan International Airlines . He has contributed to PIA and Rawalpindi cricket team success and his performances over the years helped the teams to win some of the major domestic championships title.

In February 2003, PIA won the championship title against Khan Research Laboratories cricket team, in final match Najaf grabbed 5 wickets, again In 2004 /2005 ABN-AMRO trophy PIA shared championship title with HBL in rain effected final match and Najaf was declared best bowler of the tournament.

2014/15 season was also a good season for him, he was declared best bowler of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy grabbing up 42 wickets in 8 matches with the best Avg 15.19 per wicket

International matches and tours Najaf's international career started through ICC Under-17 Asia Cup, held in Pakistan during the 2000/2001 cricket season. He played for Pakistan U-19 and Pakistan A for a few years. In 2007, he was selected for Pakistan Cricket Academy team to tour Bangladesh for a tri-series tournament involving Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The tour helped him make a strong case for national selectors as he took 9 wicket in 4 one-day matches in the tri series most by any bowler and then 16 wickets in two four day matches against Bangla Dash again most by any bowler and Pakistan Academy team won both matches team.

International cricket leagues and tournaments

Year Team Tournaments Country 2016 US All Stars US Open T20 Tournament Florida USA 2016 Smart Choice World XI Diversity T20 Cup Michigan USA 2016 Grand Rapids CC Midwest Cricket Conference League Chicago USA 2016 Virginia Cricket Club Washington Cricket League USA 2015 Chicago Gymkhana Cricket Club Midwest Cricket Conference League - Unity Cup Chicago USA 2013 Wirksworth Cricket Club Derbyshire Cricket League England 2009 Kidsgrove Cricket Club North Staffordshire South Cheshire Cricket League England 2008 Barlaston Cricket Club North Staffordshire South Cheshire Cricket League England 2006 Ashcombe Park Cricket Club North Staffordshire South Cheshire Cricket League England 2005 Burslem Cricket Club North Staffordshire South Cheshire Cricket League England 2004 Burslem Cricket Club

TV cricket analyst Najaf is also well known cricket analyst in Pakistan, he is currently signed by Pakistan Television Corporation and Kay2 TV to cover major cricket events. Recently he has covered Pakistan Super League but in past he has been covering ICC tournaments