Hailing from Malakand agency in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), but based in Karachi, Sohail Khan had a debut first-class season in the 2007-08 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy few in Pakistan have equalled. The right-arm fast-medium bowler, playing for Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC), took 65 wickets in his first nine matches, with as many as eight five-wicket hauls. The second of his ten-wicket match hauls was 16 for 189, which shattered Fazal Mahmood's long-standing national record for best haul (15 for 76). The performances catapulted him from obscurity to an international debut against Zimbabwe in January 2008.

Popularly known as Sohail Pathan on the circuit, he is like many Karachi stars, a product of the Rashid Latif Cricket Academy (RLCA). He was first discovered at a fast bowler talent hunt after having moved to Karachi. A stint in club cricket led to discovery by Latif who quickly took him in and honed his considerable raw talent. The effects of that stint were outstanding.

He went wicketless on Test debut on a desperately flat surface in Karachi in early 2009 (the last completed Test in Pakistan at the time of writing) and had to wait more than two years for another chance. When he struggled in that game it seemed his Test career might be over, but he was recalled for the Edgbaston Test of 2016 and responded with a much-improved display.
Cricinfo Staff