A one-time Pakistan spinner is hoping he can help solve England’s slow-bowling problems after becoming eligible for his adopted country.
Left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar played one Test for Pakistan five years ago, and a single one-day international for them in Sharjah back in 2015.
Six months after his Test debut in New Zealand in 2021, he took up a contract to play county cricket with Gloucestershire.
He has since settled in the UK, and played for Middlesex as a domestic player last summer.
The time he has spent in the UK means he now qualifies to play for England. The ICC’s eligibility laws state a player can switch teams so long as they have not participated for their previous side during the three years preceding the date of the match for which they are selected.
That is between full Test-playing nations. There is no stand down period for players to switch from an Associate nation – such as the UAE – to a Test one like England or Pakistan.
“Moving to England a few years ago, that was on my mind,” Gohar said of the prospect of representing his country of residence.
“It was actually my target to move there and pursue my career in England. I did everything I could, and I'm pretty happy I qualified as an English player.
“That [playing for England] would be great. What is in my hands is to work hard and then perform well, which I've been doing for the last couple of years.
“I've got a pretty extraordinary record, being a spinner in English county cricket the last couple of years, so I'm happy and I'm striving to improve every day, every year.
“If you want to play county cricket as a local player, you have to declare that the only international cricket you'll play is for England.
“You can't pursue your international career in any other country, so this is how you qualify as a local player in England to play county cricket.”
Gohar will be 31 by the time England return to Test cricket, against New Zealand in June.
England have faced problems in their spin bowling game for some time now. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir had emerged as their first-choice slow bowler last year.
However, he did not play a Test during their humbling by Australia in the Ashes.
Jack Leach, the other spinner England have used most in recent years, is now 34 and has not played a Test since England toured Pakistan at the end of 2024.
Gohar said he has mixed feelings about his career with Pakistan. He is grateful he achieved his dream of playing for them, but feels like his time with the national team was limited.
“It's great to be an international cricketer but I feel like I could have done more, and I could have played more,” Gohar said.
“I feel like I've done everything I could to play for Pakistan but, unfortunately, things didn't go my way.
“I worked really hard, I performed really well in domestic cricket there. I feel like my performance is not really getting recognised.
“There's no point to just play domestic cricket and then give up on your dreams, so that was the reason to move England and try to pursue my career there. I think it was a better opportunity to move there, play county cricket.
“It was always my dream to play county cricket. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity with Gloucestershire a few years ago, and that is how my journey started there.”
Gohar’s allegiance switch is intriguing. His only ODI appearance came against England in Sharjah in 2015. That was a year after he had been the player of the match in the Under 19 World Cup semi-final against them in Dubai.
That match was notably heated when Gohar came to the wicket to bat. England’s players sledged him, but he eventually guided Pakistan through a nervy run chase to earn a final against South Africa, which they subsequently lost.
That England side included the likes of Ben Duckett and Matt Fisher, who are part of England’s Ashes tour party.
“We played eight games [against England in preparation for that U19 World Cup], and they didn't want a single game,” said Gohar, who was called up to the victorious Desert Vipers squad as an injury replacement in the ILT20.
“That was the only time they thought they had a chance, so that's probably the reason they were coming so hard at me, but I was pretty calm. It was a high-pressure game, but in the end we got through the line.”
Gohar said that innings typifies his game. “I love that sort of challenge,” he said.
“I remember when I moved to England, when I first signed my county contract with Gloucestershire, all I heard was 'It doesn't spin much at Bristol'.
“Everyone was saying those sort of stats, saying ‘Why did Gloucester sign a spinner?’ I took it as a challenge and then I was the first bowler to get 10-for at Bristol [for years].
“I ended up being one of the most successful spinners for Gloucestershire in the last 20 or 30 years.
“I always like challenges. If someone says you can't do it, something kicks inside me and then I just want to do it.
“I don't know if you call it stubborn, but if someone says you can't do it or it's not possible or whatever, it's so hard to do it, I try to prove them wrong.”
