A stylish left-handed batsman, Taufeeq Umar made his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2001 and became the eighth player to score a century on Test debut for Pakistan. He followed it up with remarkable performances against Australia, and later against South Africa in South Africa, He continued his impressive run of form and duly posted a century and three half-centuries in four innings against South Africa at home.

However, a string of low scores against New Zealand, India and England in 2005/06 saw him lose the favour of the national selectors. He was in and out of the team before getting completely dropped from the Test squad after the Leeds Test against England in August 2006. Two years later, he joined the controversial Indian Cricket League. When ICL came to an abrupt end, Taufeeq returned to the fold and resumed playing domestic cricket for Habib Bank Limited.

In 2010, Taufeeq finally managed to capture the attention of the national selectors after putting up decent performances in the domestic circuit. He subsequently made his comeback to Test cricket in the series against South Africa played in the UAE. His performances were heartening as he established a solid opening partnership with a revitalised Mohammad Hafeez. Taufeeq also smashed his first international double century against Sri Lanka in 2011, becoming the first Pakistani opener to score a double hundred since 1992.

Having played his last series against Sri Lanka in 2012, where he scored 165 runs in three tests, Taufeeq Umar was recalled for the 2013 Tour of South Africa. However, a leg injury ruled him out for the duration of the tour. Despite that, Taufeeq Umar has kept an upbeat attitude towards representing Pakistan in the near future test series.

[Last updated: May 9, 2013]