Zulqarnain Haider
 |
| Name |
Zulqarnain Haider |
| Height |
|
| Nationality |
Pakistani |
| Date of Birth |
23 April, 1986 |
| Place of Birth |
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Famous For |
Cricket |
Zulqarnain Haider, Cricketers is famous for Cricket, Pakistani celebrity. Born on 23 April, 1986
Zulqarnain Haider is a former Pakistan under 19 wicketkeeper and second-choice wicket-keeper for the Pakistan national cricket team. He is generally regarded as being the reserve keeper to Kamran Akmal and has represented Pakistan in just one Test cricket match aside from playing 4 One day cricket games. The right-hander represents both Lahore Blues and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited in Pakistani domestic cricket.
Early and personal lifeHaider was born in a family of modest means in the Pakistani city of Lahore. From his birth, he focused on cricket and being a wicket-keeper. Haider's mom died in 1998 when he was just 12. Haider since then has donated money to Imran Khan's hospital.
“"My mother (may she rest in peace) passed away 12 years ago after suffering from cancer. When she sadly passed away I made a vow to myself that when I made my test debut I would donate half my match fee to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. My family and I felt so helpless at her time of illness and vowed that we would do our utmost to ensure that others would not suffer in the same way in Pakistan in future. I made the vow and will stick by it and ensure that the funds are sent to the Shaukat Khanum Hospital right away."”
By the time he made his Test debut in 2010, his father Syed Raza Haider, all of a sudden fell ill to hepatitis C. Haider's father could not find out about the news of his son's performance on debut. However Pakistani captain, Salman Butt told the media that his condition was improving and that it was a big accomplishment for Haider to bat and handle the pressure while he knew his father was in hospital. He donated his match-fees earned for that match to Imran Khan's Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre.
International debutHe made his debut in Twenty20 International in place of the injured Kamran Akmal he scored 5 runs and took two vital catches as Wicket-Keeper. However because Akmal was performing consistently Haider did not get a chance to perform also Sarfraz Ahmed had made a claim as Pakistan's reserve keeper three years later He made his Test cricket debut in the second Test against England on 6 August 2010 (his first match for Pakistan since 2007) and scored a first ball duck with the bat in the first innings. However, he had a much better game in comparison with the gloves, bagging three catches. In the second innings, he batted extremely well scoring his maiden Test fifty, thus rescuing the team from an innings defeat. He eventually made 88 off 200 balls. He was given out leg before wicket first ball in the second innings but requested a video referral, which showed that the umpire's decision was incorrect, and he was allowed to continue batting. Many analysts also applauded him for showing a game of patience and said that the mental game of Test cricket on that day had been won by Pakistan as one example was when Stuart Broad for no apparent reason threw a ball at Haider. He donated half of his match fees to a cancer hospital in Pakistan and dedicated his performance to his mother who died of cancer. Haider suffered a hair-line fracture shortly after the Test match; to his little finger and was sent for an examination to determine if he could play in the third test. He was then diagnosed with a hair-line fracture to his finger and was ruled out for the third test and did not participate in the remainder of the series. The injury he got when he was training with the team in July just before the second test against Australia and it was aggravated when Stuart Broad hurled a ball at him.
Threats and retirementHaider left the team in Dubai fleeing to UK after claiming to have received threatening messages against himself and his family from an unknown source. He called his brother and a television journalist in Pakistan, alleging he received a threat after the close-fought 4th ODI match against South Africa, a claim that still can not be verified as of this day. Haider's brother says the PCB knew of the threats and accused it of doing nothing about them. He has demanded a government inquiry into the matter.
The PCB said a "full inquiry" will be held into the "circumstances surrounding this incident" and "no further comments will be made until the facts are known." ICC had offered to investigate the claims if Haider were to come forward and provide some details. Following the events, PCB confirmed that Haider had breached his central contract in direct violation of the code of conduct by prematurely fleeing off, by not reporting the incident to the PCB, by making unconfirmed statements to the media, and therefore his contract was terminated immediately.Zulqarnain claims death threats forced him to flee to London rather than 'sell out the dignity and respect of my motherland' by agreeing to throw matches.
On 9 November 2010 Haider announced his retirement from international cricket. The controversial Haider stated that he did not want to cause harm and subsequently decided to retire from International cricket. His filing for asylum to seek refuge in the UK has raised eyebrows in some corners, with skepticism to his claims, which is currently being reviewed by the immigration office.