Rameez Shahzad (Urdu: رمیز شھزاد; born 30 November 1987) is a Pakistani-born cricketer who played for the United Arab Emirates national cricket team.[1][2] A right-handed batsman and off spin bowler,[3] he has played for the United Arab Emirates national cricket team since 2005,[4] including three first-class matches.[3] He made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Scotland on 14 August 2016 in the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship.[5] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for the United Arab Emirates against Afghanistan on 14 December 2016.[6]
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| Born | (1987-11-30) 30 November 1987 (age 34) Lahore, Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm off break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Shehzad Altaf (father) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| ODI debut (cap 66) | 14 August 2016 v Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 30 August 2018 v Nepal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 32) | 14 December 2016 v Afghanistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 30 October 2019 v Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNCricinfo, 30 October 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born in Lahore in 1987, the son of Shehzad Altaf,[1] Rameez Shahzad first represented the UAE at Under-15 level,[4] playing in the Under-15 Asia Cup in Dubai in December 2002.[7] He first represented the senior side in 2005,[4] playing in an ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Ireland in October.[8] He played for the Under-19 team in the ACC Under-19 Cup in Nepal the following month.[7]
He returned to the senior side to play in the 2006 ACC Trophy in Malaysia[7] and played twice in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup; against Namibia and Scotland.[8] He most recently represented his country in the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite tournament in Kuala Lumpur.[7]
In January 2018, he was named in the United Arab Emirates's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.[9]
Following the conclusion of the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Shahzad as the rising star of the United Arab Emirates's squad.[10]
In August 2018, he was named in the United Arab Emirates' squad for the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament.[11] In December 2018, he was named in the United Arab Emirates' team for the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.[12] Later the same month, he was one of three players to be given an eight-week ban from international cricket for breaching the Emirates Cricket Board's Player's Code of Conduct,[13] after using Twitter to criticise the facilities in Karachi during the tournament.[14] In January 2019, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had accepted apologies from all the cricketers involved.[15] In March 2019, he returned to the UAE's squad following his suspension for their series against the United States.[16]
In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Winnipeg Hawks franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament.[17] In September 2019, he was named in the United Arab Emirates' squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the UAE.[18]