I would love to pick Virat Kohli's wicket if I get to bowl at him: Saad Bin Zafar [interview]

When it comes to the T20 format of the game, one has to be on their toes. Owing to the format, the batters aim to dominate the proceedings and that makes the job even tougher for the bowlers. In this scenario, a run saved is equivalent to a run scored. Amidst this, when a bowler gives his all to restrict the flow of runs, it is a no-brainer that he/she has helped the team in many ways than one.

Well, what if a bowler doesn’t concede a single run in his spell in T20s? It’s a rare and commendable feat and the left-arm orthodox spin bowler Saad Bin Zafar has achieved it. He grabbed all the headlines after having entered the record books post his fabulous outing in the game.

In an international T20 match wherein Canada beat Panama at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier, he became the first bowler to bowl four overs without conceding a run. He had a perfect day on the field having bowled four maiden overs in the shortest format of the game.

Saad Bin Zafar made a move from Pakistan to Canada at the age of just 17. In the year 2018, he was awarded the man of the match in the final of the inaugural Global T20 Canada tournament. He had scalped two wickets and played belligerent innings of unbeaten 79 to be one of the architects of the team’s victory.

CricTracker caught up with the all-rounder in an exclusive interview wherein he spoke about different aspects of the game and his personal life. From his celebrity crush to his dream wicket and future endeavors, he opened up on many such intriguing things.

Here are some excerpts from the interview: 

Your Cricket idol is

Wasim Akram

One thing that no one knows about you

I have a fear of needles

A Pakistani dish everyone must try

Chicken Karahi

The best T20 League in the world according to you is

IPL hands down

Double your weight or half your height, what will you pick?

Double my weight because I can always hit the gym and lose it.

Your career’s best moment is

The Global T20 finals where I won the Man of the Match award

A dream you would like to achieve that you have not already

Representing Canada in the World Cup.

Coffee from Tim Hortons or Masala chai?

Masala Chai

The laziest cricketer in the Canadian team is?

Nikhil Dutta

Who is your celebrity crush?

Katrina Kaif

A sportsperson you admire

In cricket, I admire Imran Khan and Rahul Dravid, outside cricket it would be Cristiano Ronaldo

What is your favorite format of cricket?

T20 Format

Your favorite destination?

Dubai

Your dream wicket?

Getting Virat Kohli out, if I get to bowl at him

A cricketer who googles himself most in the Saint Lucia Zouks

If I have to take a guess, then Kesrick Williams

What scares you?

There are a lot of things but if I have to choose one then it is fear of heights. I cannot do sky diving, bungee jumping, etc.

What was your first job?

It was Telemarketer. I was calling people and selling them high-speed internet and cellphone packages.

If someone were to play you in a movie, who would you want it to be?

Two of my favorite actors are Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan. If I had to pick I would choose any one of them.

At what job would you be terrible?

I guess I will be a terrible chef because I cannot cook anything.

Who is your favorite superhero?

Batman

You bowled four maiden overs against Panama, at which point did you become aware of the fact that you have the chance to complete your quota without conceding a run?

I wasn’t aware at all. It was actually after I finished that my coach told me that you haven’t given any runs and that’s the world record.

One quality you want to intake from your contemporaries (left-arm spinners) – Ravindra Jadeja, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Santner, Imad Wasim

I think consistency and hard work they put in to hone their craft.

Recently a domestic Indian bowler (Akshay Karnewar) replicated your feat of not conceding a run in his four overs in T20. Would you know who he is?

Someone messaged me about him. But I forgot his name, cannot recollect.

How was your experience of sharing the dressing room with Ali Khan in Vancouver Knights, who has had a similar path as yours? (Both were born in Pakistan and later migrated to associate countries)

I have known Ali Khan for quite a while now. We played cricket together in a few domestic tournaments in USA and Canada but it is lovely to see him get successful over the years. And it gives you the inspiration that people from USA and Canada can be successful as well and go and play all those high-profile franchise cricket leagues. It has been amazing sharing the dressing room with all the big players. It tells that talent alone isn’t enough, one has to put in all the hard work.

How do you view your cricketing journey so far? And also a bit about cricket in US and Canada.

Cricket is growing a lot in the USA and in Canada as well. They are starting the American Premier League soon so it is going to grow. They have already started the Minor league there. So there is a lot of future in North American region and it will grow and become one of the big sports in the region soon.

What is in cards for you now? If you could talk us through it

I am blessed with all the achievements so far. I still want to take Canada to the World Cup and represent the nation. That is one dream I am working on. We have global qualifiers coming up in Oman in February so we are working hard for that tournament. It’s just about getting better by the day and playing as much cricket as I can at the highest level.