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From wanting to represent Australia at T20 World Cup in 2020 to being named in Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming edition, life has come a long way for spinner Usman Qadir.
Usman, son of legendary Pakistani leg-spinner Abdul Qadir, had lost his trust in the country’s cricketing system and wanted to pursue opportunities elsewhere after he struggled for chances in domestic cricket. He also had to endure accusations of nepotism as he tried to follow in the footsteps of his late father, who briefly held the post of Pakistan’s chief selector.
“There is politics, they’re making their own decisions, they have likes and dislikes and that’s why I don’t like that,” he said in 2018 about the cricketing system in Pakistan.
The leggie, who represented Pakistan at U-19 ODI World Cup in 2012, didn’t shy away from stating that he aims to represent Australia in the T20 World Cup.
“My goal is to play for Australia in the 2020 World Twenty20. Hopefully, definitely [I will be eligible],” Usman had said in 2018.
A tussle between father and son
Like every father-son, Abdul and Usman used to have arguments especially when the latter expressed his desire to switch countries.
“There is a very big debate whenever I talk about Pakistan things. I’d just keep on telling my dad that I want to play for Australia and he keeps telling me ‘no, you have to play for Pakistan’,” Usman told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2019.
“For a couple of years I did not get any chance to play in Pakistan, I got named in the teams but I never played, in Twenty20s or one-dayers or whatever, I was always sitting on the bench.
“When I came here, they gave me the opportunity and I’m performing.
“He (Qadir senior) just gave me permission and said ‘I have a blessing with you. Whatever you need to do, you can do it, because you are growing up and you’re old enough to make your own decision’.”
Usman Qadir receives a plaque and a cap on behalf of his late father Abdul Qadir who is formally inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame🌟 pic.twitter.com/X7wY4sY8oh
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 31, 2022
Usman’s connection with Australia
29-year-old Usman played club cricket in Adelaide and for South Australia’s future league in the 2012-13 season, which elicited a lot of praise from coaches.
In 2018, Usman went on to sign a contract to represent the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League as an overseas player. In the same year, he made his debut for Western Australia against Victoria in the 2018-19 JLT One-Day Cup.
Notably, Usman helped Western Australia to the victory, taking 3/50 and later that same day, realising his worth, the spinner cited his intentions to gain Australian citizenship and represent the country at the 2020 ICC World Twenty20.
Life takes a U-turn for Usman
In 2019, Usman Qadir donned the Australian colours for the first time in Prime Minister XI’s win over a near full-strength South Africa in a one-day warm-up where he bagged three wickets which put him in contention to play for Australia.
However, fearing that Pakistan may lose out on a future star, PCB swung into action and named Usman in the T20I squad for the tour of Australia in 2019.
The call-up was so out of the blue that Usman found out about it from his overjoyed wife and actress Sobia Khan, who called him after seeing he’d been picked on the news three days after she’d given birth to their daughter.
Notably, Qadir was then in the process of applying for a permanent Australian visa despite playing four games for Central Punjab in Pakistan’s domestic T20 competition earlier that month.
So, when the opportunity to finally play at the international level arrived, Qadir couldn’t say no and decided to play for the country of his origin. He also admitted his hopes of becoming an Australian citizen in time for the 2020 T20 World Cup were slim.
“I said before that I wanted to play for Australia but… it’s a big opportunity to play for your own country,” said Usman Qadir, whose uncle Ali Bahadur, and brothers Imran, Rehman, and Sulaman Qadir, have all played first-class cricket.
Father’s legacy changed his mind
Explaining his decision to play for Pakistan, Usman said he wanted to fulfil the wish of his late father (who passed away in 2019) – by making his international debut for Pakistan.
“My father said, ‘My wish is for (you) to play for Pakistan, for your own country. If you want to go there (to Australia), you can – it’s your own decision. But my dream is for you to play for Pakistan,” Usman had revealed while speaking to cricket.com.au.
On his legendary father Abdul Qadir’s birth anniversary, @Qadircricketer talks about his role in his rise as an international cricketer, and how he inspired him in his younger days. pic.twitter.com/MpS7utIY7P
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 15, 2021
Usman, whose sister got married to Pakistan batter Umar Akmal in 2014, also said that he feels like he is a custodian of his father’s legacy.
“My father re-invented the googly and I feel that I am its custodian, I learned a lot from him and now is the time to deliver, when I left for Australia my father asked me to give it my all to don Pakistan colours and I am proud that I have made it to the national squad,” spinner said as quoted by Geo TV.
Usman’s international career never really took off
Despite getting named in the Pakistan T20I squad to face Australia in October 2019, Qadir didn’t make it to the playing XI in the three-match series.
In January 2020, he was again named in Pakistan’s T20I squad, this time for their series against Bangladesh but once again he didn’t play.
It was finally on 7 November that Usman made his T20I debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe and also picked up his first-ever international wicket.
❓/🔟
How do you rate this googly from Usman Qadir?pic.twitter.com/K3PkN79Ef3
— ICC (@ICC) November 8, 2020
Later in 2021, Qadir made his ODI debut for Pakistan, against South Africa, on 7 April and picked a wicket. However, he hasn’t played a single ODI since.
In total, Qadir has played 23 T20Is and an ODI for the Men in Green.
Usman eyes glory
Usman Qadir was named as one of three travelling reserve players in Pakistan’s squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup. But this year, the leggie is part of the 15-member squad and he will now be aiming to utilise his experience of playing in Australia and help Pakistan win their second T20 World Cup.
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