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Gloucestershire re-sign Pakistan spinner Zafar Gohar for 2022 season

2 December 2021

Gloucestershire have re-signed Pakistan spinner Zafar Gohar for the entirety of the upcoming 2022 cricket season.

The 26-year-old made a tremendous impact with the ball for The Shire in the final few matches of 2021, and the Club is delighted to welcome Zafar back to Bristol for a second spell.

Zafar re-joins the Club as a retained player for the first few months of the season and will turn full-time for August and September, meaning he will be available for selection from the first match of the season on a pay-by-appearance basis until the end of July.

The exciting bowler had Glos supporters off their seats and quickly became a fan favourite with his explosive performances in the final four matches of the LV= County Championship Division Two season. After making his debut against Northants in August, Zafar went on to take 3/77 against Essex and then 6/43 against Glamorgan, both away from home.

But his best performance came during the last match of the season when Zafar stunned Durham to take 11 wickets, 5/50 and 6/51, to help Glos on their way to a dominant seven-wicket victory.

Speaking of his excitement of re-signing for Gloucestershire, Zafar said: 

“Playing County Cricket this year and making my debut for Gloucestershire was the realisation of an ambition I've had for some time. Getting the opportunity to pull on a Gloucestershire shirt and contribute to a winning team was a great start to my career in England and I'm very pleased to be returning for a longer stint next year.

“We have a team capable of challenging anyone and some great momentum from 2021 to build on. I can't wait to get back and hopefully pick up where I left off."

Born in Lahore, Zafar was part of two back-to-back Under-19 World Cups from 2012, and subsequently rose to fame during a Youth tour to England in 2013. He also finished as the most successful bowler in a tri-series involving Bangladesh and England, finishing with 18 wickets and a bowling economy of 11.44.

He was then selected by Pakistan for his One-Day International debut against England in 2015, and faced a side led by James Taylor during a tour of United Arab Emirates.

England won the match comfortably by six wickets, but it was Zafar who was the only Pakistan bowler to take two-wickets in the England innings, one of which was current England captain Joe Root.

In January 2021, he made his test debut for Pakistan against New Zealand at Christchurch.

Steve Snell, Performance Director at Gloucestershire Cricket, said: "We're thrilled to have Zafar back onboard for next season, he's already proven just how much quality he has and we're really excited to see him in action again next year. It's a real bonus that Zafar is available for selection right from day one, he provides the squad with depth and makes selection even more difficult for our new Head Coach Dale Benkenstein, which is a positive problem to have."

Zafar Gohar is the fourth players to sign for The Shire ahead of the 2022 season, and will link up with fellow new recruits Marcus Harris, Ajeet Singh Dale and Paul van Meekeren, and the rest of the playing squad for pre-season training in the coming months.

Will Brown, Gloucestershire Cricket Chief Executive, added: "The signing of Zafar is another great moment for the Club. We feel like we're on the cusp of something really special with the squad we're assembling and we're confident of being able to challenge for silverware in 2022.

"Zafar was a big hit with supporters at the back end of last season and we’re confident that he’ll be able to make important contributions for The Shire once again next season across all formats, including the County Championship, where we’ll be playing against the best cricketers in the country in Division One.”

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