Zia-ul-Haq hails from the same city as Waqar Younis. A wiry left-armer, he is highly rated and is a potential strike bowler for the Pakistan side in the future.

Full name: Zia-ul-Haq
Born: December 11, 1994, Vehari, Punjab
Major teams: Lahore Lions, Pakistan International Airlines, National Bank, Pakistan Under-19s
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm fast-medium

Profile: Hailing from the city of Vehari, in Punjab, the very same city that produced the legendary fast bowler Waqar Younis.

Zia-ul-Haq was first spotted by Gaggoo Mandi Cricket Club's head coach Nadeem Iqbal during local trials. He was then given a chance to train at the GMCC - an opportunity that he grabbed with both hands.

Zia is a tall wiry left arm pace bowler who caught the eye of coaches, fans and the media in the National One Day Cup first division last year where he took 13 wickets in 7 matches at an economy rate of just under 4.5. On his domestic T20 debut in the Faysal Bank Super 8s T-20 Cup 2011-12, he took 5 for 23 against Faisalabad in a superb spell of seam and swing bowling and regularly touched the 140kph mark.

Zia has been gently eased into first class cricket by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) since signing for them and made his first class debut in October 2010 at the age of 15 against Islamabad in a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture in which he had match figures of 5 for 89 in 27.3 overs. His debut season in First Class saw him take 10 wickets in 4 matches at just under 29 apiece. In his second First Class season he played in 3 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches taking 9 wickets at just over 20 apiece.

Zia had an impressive tour of South Africa with the Pakistan Under 19s and in the tri series against the hosts and Zimbabwe he took 12 wickets in 7 matches at an economy rate of 3.88 and an average of 14.83. Following the tri series, Pakistan Under 19s played a 3 match series of 50 over matches against South Africa Under 19s and in that series Zia took 5 wickets at an economy rate of 3.58 and an average of 17.20. He finished as Pakistan's second highest wicket-taker, taking 12 wickets in 8 matches at 17.41 apiece on the tour of Australia.

In 2013 Zia was among a select group of fast bowlers that spent some time being coached by the legendary Wasim Akram. A first-class average of 25 shows that he is one for the future and will no doubt be part of Pakistan's plans for many years to come. He produced stellar performances in England and the UAE to help Pakistan U19s to tri-nations titles, proving that he is on his way to becoming a force to be reckoned with at the national level.

Zia ul Haq's transferred to National Bank recently and his performances for them have been spectacular especially at first class level where he averages 25. As a result of his performances at domestic level, Zia was picked for the A team tour of Sri Lanka in 2015 where he impressed in the one day series by taking 6 wickets in three matches. However he struggled in the first class leg of the tour and managed to take only 3 wickets in three four day matches.

Zia-ul-Haq is very highly rated and at just 20 years of age he has the potential to improve a lot and be rhe strike bowler for Pakistan in the future.

Last updated on 21st June 2015