Standing 6ft 4in tall, a hachimaki pushing back his mop of hair, Usman Tariq could be mistaken for a martial artist. Australia’s Cameron Green drew attention to this rather unsubtly when, during a World Cup warm-up match, he was caught on camera marking his dismissal by mimicking the side sling technique, before later apologising. England’s Tom Banton also appeared to intimate to on-field officials at the Pakistan Super League that Tariq was throwing. In his second appearance, against a Zimbabwe team that has been the surprise package of this Twenty20 World Cup, he took a hat-trick. But Sahibzada Farhan, leading run-scorer at this World Cup and one of the 63 Pakistani players to have signed up for the auction, said: ‘I'm very hopeful.

Source: Daily Mail February 24, 2026 09:34 UTC