International career

Saad Bin Zafar was born on 10 November 1986. He plays cricket for Canada as a left-handed all-rounder and leads the Canadian national team as captain. Saad has a world record for bowling four overs in a T20 International match without giving any runs. He also ranks seventh in the number of maiden overs bowled in T20 International cricket. With the bat, Saad holds the third highest strike rate in a T20 International innings, at 414.28. These records show his important role in international cricket for Canada.

2008

• In June, Canada added Saad Bin Zafar to the squad for the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
• On July 4, he played his first international match against Bermuda and took 4 wickets, including the captain of Bermuda.

2009

• In December, his name was in the squad for the Quadrangular T20 Series in Sri Lanka.

2010

• In January, he played in the ICC World T20 Qualifier in the UAE.
• He played his first T20 match against the UAE.

2015

• In April, he came back to the national team for ICC Americas T20 Division One.
• In June, he played in the ICC World T20 Qualifier. His economy rate was 6.23, the best among Canadian bowlers in that tournament.

2017

• In May, he played in ICC World Cricket League Division 3 in Uganda.

2018

• In January, he played in ICC World Cricket League Division 2 in Namibia.
• In August, he was in the squad for ICC World T20 Americas Qualifier in the USA.
• 2019
• In April, he played in ICC World Cricket League Division 2. He took 11 wickets in 6 matches, most by any Canadian bowler.
• In August, he joined the squad for ICC T20 World Cup Americas Regional Finals.
• On August 18, he played his first T20 International against Cayman Islands.
• In September, he played in the Challenge League A in Malaysia. His economy rate was 3.50, best among Canadian bowlers in that event.
• In October, he played in the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE. He took 9 wickets in 5 matches, most by any Canadian player.

2021

• In October, he was part of the team for ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier.
• On November 14, he bowled 4 overs without giving a single run against Panama. No other bowler had done this before in T20I cricket.

2022

• In February, he played in the ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifier A in Oman.
• In July, he became captain for the T20 series against Nepal. Canada won that match by 83 runs.
• He also became vice-captain for the Canada squad in Challenge League A.
• In one match against Malaysia, he took 5 wickets. That was his first five-wicket haul in List A cricket.
• In October, he captained the team in the Desert Cup T20I and the ODI series against Oman. Canada won both series.
• On November 14, he scored 29 runs from just 7 balls against Bahrain. His strike rate was 414.28, which is the second-highest in T20I history.
• In November, he led Canada in Challenge League A in Malaysia. Against Singapore, he took another 5 wickets. He finished with 25 wickets in 14 matches. Only two bowlers had more.

2023

• In February, he captained Canada in four ODIs against the Sri Lanka Development XI.
• In March, he led the team in the ICC World Cup Qualifier Play-off.
• On March 27, he played his first ODI against Jersey.
• Canada won ODI status again and entered ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 for 2023–2027.
• In September, he led the team in ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier. Canada won four out of five matches and reached the T20 World Cup for the first time.

2024

• In January, he captained Canada in ODIs against Hong Kong and Malaysia.
• In February, he led the team in ODIs against Nepal and in a Tri-Nation Series against the UAE and Scotland. Canada did not lose a match.
• In April, he captained the team in T20Is against the USA before the World Cup.
• In May and June, he led Canada in the T20 World Cup. Canada won a match against Ireland. That was their first win in a World Cup.
• In July, he played in a Tri-Nation Series in the Netherlands. He took 13 wickets across ODIs and T20Is, the most by any player in that series.
• On August 16, he became the first Canadian bowler to reach 50 wickets in T20I cricket, in a match against the USA.
• In September, he played in another Tri-Nation Series in Canada. He was Canada’s top run scorer and also took the most wickets in the T20I series.

2025

• In February, he played in a Tri-Nation Series in Namibia. He played both ODIs and T20Is.
• In April, he played in the North American Cup in the Cayman Islands. He took 9 wickets and was the most economical bowler in that event.
• In May, he was part of the team in a Tri-Nation Series in the USA.
• On March 15, he played his last ODI (so far) against Namibia.
• On April 27, he played his last T20I (so far) against the USA.

ODI

• Matches: 23
• Wickets: 28
• Bowling average: 30.96
• Economy rate: 4.27
• Best bowling: 3 for 30
• ICC ODI ranking: 94th (383 points)

T20I

• Matches: 39
• Wickets: 44
• Bowling average: 18.27
• Economy rate: 6.18
• Best bowling: 3 for 11

Leagues Participation

In 2018, he joined St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League.

Caribbean Premier League

Saad Bin Zafar came in as a replacement player for Mahmudullah during the playoffs for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. In 2020, he was named in the squad of St Lucia Zouks. However, he did not play any match that season.

Year	Team	Notes
2018	St Kitts and Nevis Patriots	Joined for playoffs as replacement for Mahmudullah
2019	–	Did not take part
2020	St Lucia Zouks	Named in squad but did not play any matches

Domestic career

Saad Bin Zafar started his domestic career in 2008. He played first-class matches for Canada against Bermuda and Scotland. He later took part in List A and T20 matches for Canada from 2010 to 2025.

While studying at the University of Toronto, he led the CIMA Toronto Mayor's Team XI during their tour to England in 2010. He scored 275 runs and took 11 wickets. The team won 7 out of 9 matches under his captaincy. In 2015, he scored 262 not out in a 50-over match in the Scarborough Cricket League.

In 2017, he played for ICC Americas in the Regional Super50 and took 9 wickets. He dismissed players like Shai Hope, Jermaine Blackwood, and Chadwick Walton.

In 2018, he joined Vancouver Knights in the first Global T20 Canada. In the final, he scored 79 not out and took 2 wickets. He helped the team win the match and was named man of the match. He played again for Vancouver Knights in 2019. He became their top wicket-taker and performed well in the playoffs. In one match, he dismissed Shahid Afridi and Colin Munro in the same over.

He was picked for Amsterdam Knights in the Euro T20 Slam in 2019, but the tournament was cancelled. Later in the year, he joined Falcon Hunters in the Qatar T10 League. The team won the title, and he took 6 wickets, including Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal.

In 2020, he joined St Lucia Zouks for the Caribbean Premier League. He also took part in Minor League Cricket in the USA. He first played for Houston Hurricanes and later moved to Michigan Cricket Stars. He took 14 wickets in 12 matches with an economy rate of 5.7.

In 2022, he played for Muzaffarabad Tigers in the Kashmir Premier League. He had an economy rate of 6.26 in 5 matches and was among the most economical bowlers of the season.

In 2023, he was drafted by Toronto Nationals in the Global T20 Canada. He took key wickets in matches against Surrey Jaguars and Mississauga Panthers. In a match against Vancouver Knights, there was controversy around a catch, but the umpire gave it not out. That same year, he became captain of New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers in Minor League Cricket. He finished the season with an economy rate of 3.82 in 9 matches.

In 2024, he played again for Toronto Nationals. The team won the Global T20 title. He took 9 wickets and had an economy rate of 4.18. Later that year, he returned to the New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers. He also joined Lumbini Lions in the Nepal Premier League. He took 9 wickets, 6 catches, and had the second-best strike rate in his team. In one match, he and Rohit Paudel added 114 runs for the fifth wicket, which was the highest fifth-wicket stand of the tournament.

Other Leagues

Saad Bin Zafar took part in different cricket leagues in many countries. He played in Canada, Qatar, the USA, Pakistan, and Nepal. Below is the list by year:

• 2015: Scored 262 runs without getting out in a 50-over match in the Scarborough Cricket League Premier Division.
• 2018: Played for Vancouver Knights in the first Global T20 Canada. In the final against West Indies B, he gave away 26 runs in 4 overs and took the wickets of Fabian Allen and Brandon King. One of his overs had no runs and one wicket.
• 2019: Joined Falcon Hunters in the Qatar T10 League in December.
• 2020: Joined Houston Hurricanes squad for the 2021 Minor League Cricket in the USA.
• 2022: Chosen by Muzaffarabad Tigers for the Kashmir Premier League.
• 2024 (June): Joined Toronto Nationals for the Global T20 Canada.
• 2024 (August): Played for New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers in the Minor League Cricket season.
• 2024 (November): Joined Lumbini Lions for the first Nepal Premier League season.

Records and achievements

Saad Bin Zafar reached many goals in cricket. He showed strong results in matches for Canada and in other leagues. Below is a list with key results by year:

• Set a world record in T20I. Bowled 4 full overs. No run was scored off the bat.
• Stands in 7th place for most overs bowled in T20I career.
• Reached strike rate of 414.28 in a T20I match. This is the third highest in history.
• Scored 31 runs in a match against Nepal on February 12, 2024.
• Took 3 wickets for 30 runs in a match against the United States on August 19, 2024.
• In 2016–17, played in the Regional Super50. Took 9 wickets. He had the best result for his team.
• In 2019, played in ICC World Cricket League Division Three. Helped Canada win important matches.
• In 2022, became captain of the Canadian team for the Desert Cup and a three-match series against Oman.
• In 2022, led Canada to win both the Desert Cup T20I series and the one-day matches.
• In September 2023, named captain of the Canadian team for the T20 World Cup qualifying stage.
• In 2024, became the first captain of Canada at the T20 World Cup.

Personal life

Saad Bin Zafar is a famous cricket player. Many people follow him on social media. He started playing cricket when he was a child.

Family

When Saad was 10 years old, he played tape ball cricket with friends in the street. At 14, his school sports teacher saw his skill. The teacher added him to the junior school cricket team. In 2004, Saad played club cricket for Overseas Cricket Club in the Premier Division.

Finances

In 2024, Saad’s wealth is near 1 to 2 million US dollars.

Fans

Saad has about 42,000 followers on Instagram.