Usman Tariq Height, Age, Biography » StarsUnfolded

Some Lesser Known Facts About Usman Tariq

• Usman Tariq was born and raised in a middle-class family in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

• He has been interested in cricket from a young age and played at a competitive level in school and college.

• After his father’s death, he quit cricket and moved to the United Arab Emirates, where he worked as a salesman for a purchasing company to support his family financially.

• In 2016, after watching the biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story about the Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he decided to return to sports.

• When he moved back to Pakistan, one of his friends introduced him to Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman, who took him to a local coach in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who, after watching Usman’s capabilities, introduced him to a former Pakistan cricketer, Wajahatullah Wasti, for further coaching.

• After being good at bowling, he didn’t selected in the Under-19 team, so he started playing in local clubs and regional cricket in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which gained him recognition in Pakistan’s cricket.

• In Local cricket, he represented teams such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Peshawar Region, where his bowling style began attracting attention.

• In December 2023, Tariq was picked by Quetta Gladiators for the 2024 Pakistan Super League.

• In the 2024 and 2025 Pakistan Super League seasons, Usman Tariq was reported for having a suspected illegal bowling action. He explained that his unusual, baseball-style action is natural and happens because of a medical condition that causes his arm to bend more than usual. He said he did not change his action on purpose. After medical and biomechanical testing, he was cleared.

• In May 2025, he successfully passed an official biomechanics test at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lab in Lahore and was allowed to continue bowling in competitive cricket. In 2026, Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin and umpire Anil Chaudhary also stated that Tariq’s bowling action was within the international cricket rules.

• In the 2025 Caribbean Premier League, Usman played for Trinbago Knight Riders. He helped his team win the tournament title. Usman finished second in the list of highest wicket-takers with 20 wickets in 10 matches. He was just behind Imran Tahir, who took 23 wickets in 12 matches.

• Usman Tariq made his international debut for Pakistan in October 2025, in the third T20 of the home series against South Africa. In that match, Usman took an important wicket of Dewald Brevis.

• In November 2025, during the fourth match of the Pakistan T20I Tri-Series, Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe to reach the final. In that match, Usman Tariq took a hat-trick and finished with excellent bowling figures of 4 wickets for 18 runs, and became one of the few Pakistani bowlers to achieve this milestone. His performance broke Zimbabwe’s top batting order and helped Pakistan win the game. He was awarded the Player of the Match for his match-winning performance.

• In February 2026, before the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026 match, India captain Suryakumar Yadav spoke about Usman Tariq’s bowling style and called him an “out-of-syllabus” bowler. He said Indian batters would not give up easily and would try to handle his unusual bowling style. During the practice session before the match, Surya was seen copying Usman Tariq’s unique bowling action in the nets so that the Indian players could prepare better against him.

• On 15 February 2026, during the match, when Usman Tariq dismissed Suryakumar Yadav with his ball, he made a small send-off gesture while Surya was walking back. The moment quickly went viral on social media.
  

  The gesture Usman Tariq made after Suryakumar Yadav’s dismissal

• Later, according to some reports, Usman’s gesture was not meant to disrespect Surya, but he was showing respect to Yadav after the dismissal.