MOHAMMAD SAMIULLAH KHAN NIAZI

SAMIULLAH KHAN NIAZI, BORN IN MIANWALLI, IS A FAST IMPROVING LEFT-ARM MEDIUM-FAST BOWLER. AFTER JUST FOUR SEASONS OF FIRST-CLASS CRICKET, HE HAS GATHERED 138 WICKETS IN 32 MATCHES AT AN INEXPENSIVE 19.48 RUNS APIECE.SAMIULLAH MADE HIS FIRST-CLASS DEBUT FOR SARGODHA IN 2002-03. SINCE THEN, HE HAS PLAYED FOR FAISALABAD AND SUI NORTHERN GAS PIPELINE LIMITED (SNGPL). IN THE 2005-06 SEASON IN PAKISTAN, SAMIULLAH WAS THE LEADING WICKET-TAKER IN FIRST-CLASS MATCHES FOR SOME TIME, HIS 75 WICKETS COSTING HIM ONLY 18.36 EACH. EVENTUALLY, PIA AND PESHAWAR’S FORMER PAKISTAN PACE BOWLER FAZL-E-AKBAR GOT PAST HIM WITH A TALLY OF 80 WICKETS.HE HAS BEEN CALLED UP BY THE TEAM MANAGEMENT FOR THE CURRENT TOUR OF ENGLAND. THE MOVE HAS BEEN NECESSITATED BY THE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE TEAM OF RANA NAVED-UL-HASAN THROUGH INJURY AND FITNESS PROBLEMS FACED BY SOME OTHER PACE BOWLERS.SAMIULLAH HAD NOT BEEN CHOSEN AMONG THE RESERVES FOR THE SENIOR TEAM’S TOUR OF ENGLAND BUT WAS INCLUDED IN A SIMILAR LIST IN THE PAKISTAN A SQUAD THAT TOURED AUSTRALIA WHERE THE FOUR-NATION TOP END SERIES IS BEING CONTESTED.SAMIULLAH, HOWEVER, HAS EXPERIENCE OF ENGLAND. LAST SUMMER HE WAS IN ENGLAND, AS A MEMBER OF THE FAISALABAD WOLVES TEAM, WHICH WON THE INTERNATIONAL TWENTY20 CHAMPIONSHIP ARRANGED BY LEICESTERSHIRE. IN APRIL 2007, HE BOWLED IMPRESSIVELY FOR THE CHAMPION PAKISTAN A TEAM IN THE EURASIA CRICKET SERIES IN ABU DHABI. FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL START TO THE 2007-08 SEASON WHERE HE WAS ONE OF THE ARCHITECTS OF SNGPL’S TRIUMPH IN THE QUAID-E-AZAM TROPHY, SAMIULLAH DULY MADE HIS ODI DEBUT AGAINST ZIMBABWE.