Arif Yaqoob: “I admire Shane Warne and grew up watching his bowling”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan leg-spinner Arif Yaqoob has named legendary Australia spin king Shane Warne as his idol and said he “grew up watching his bowling.”
Yaqoob’s comments come after he did well for the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), taking eight wickets in five matches at an average of 17.75 and an economy rate of 8.87.
His most notable performance came against Islamabad United, against whom he took four wickets in one over en route to registering career-best figures of 5-27.
“I admire Shane Warne and grew up watching his bowling,” the 29-year-old was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Zalmi managed to make it to the playoffs, but saw their campaign come to an end after they lost to the Multan Sultans in the Qualifier and Islamabad in Eliminator 2.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asif Ali, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufiyan Muqeem, Waqar Salamkheil, Arshad Iqbal, Gus Atkinson, Shamar Joseph