Agha Zahid (Urdu: آغا زاہد) (born 7 January 1953) is a Pakistani former cricketer who played in one Test match against West Indies in 1975. He had a long and distinguished domestic first-class career, scoring over 13,000 runs in 227 matches.[1] He played for Devon County Cricket Club and Barton Cricket Club from 1982 to 1986. He also won promotion in first attempt followed by two consecutive first division championship in 1983–84.
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| Born | 7 January 1953 Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Only Test (cap 69) | 15 February 1975 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 19 June 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biography
editBorn in Lahore, Zahid was raised by his mother after his father's death.[2] He pursued cricket from a young age, often concealing his cricket kit to attend matches.[2] He captained his school team and later led teams such as Government College, Lahore, Pakistan Universities, and Habib Bank.[2]
Zahid started his cricket career at Cantt Gymkhana.[2] He later captained Cantt Gymkhana.[2]
Zahid made his first-class debut in the 1970-71 BCCP Trophy, scoring 86 and 74 for Punjab University.[2] His performance continued with a century partnership with Nadeem Ahmed and a 112-run innings in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.[2] He played for Devon in the Minor Counties Championship in England during the 1980s.[2] His international career was limited to a single Test match, where he faced the West Indies' strong bowling attack.[2]
As an opening batsman for Habib Bank, Zahid formed a successful partnership with Arshad 'Bata,' leading to multiple domestic titles.[2] His first-class career spanned 227 matches, accumulating 13,484 runs with 29 centuries and 66 fifties.[2]
After retiring from playing, Zahid worked as the Chief Curator for Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), retiring from that role in 2020.[2][3] Throughout his career, he has also coached Pakistan national under-19 cricket team, and Pakistan women's national cricket team. He coached U-15 in Lambord World Cup England in 1996 and also coached Pakistan U-19 against Australia home in 1997. He toured Bangladesh as Coach of Pakistan A where the team won SAARC Championship in 1997. Later on toured England with Pakistan A team. He also officiated as a domestic match referee from 1995 to 2000. He worked as chairman of Junior selection committee from 1999 to 2000.[2]
Agha Zahid lives with his family, he has three daughters and a wife.