Sohail Tanvir is a well-known name in the cricketing world and he is known as a beast when it comes to bowling, especially in the T20 format of the game. This year the Guyana Amazon Warriors have retained him once again as they seek to win the coveted Hero Caribbean Premier League trophy.
The left-armer Tanvir made all the right noise when he burst onto the scene with his wrong-footed leap and delivery stride. Breaking the stereotype, his left foot landed ahead of the right one as he delivered the ball to bamboozle the batters with his incisive lines and his awkward action. A repertoire of slower balls also has the batsmen in soup.
The Pakistani cricketer started his first class career as a bowling all-rounder. He also bowls occasional left arm orthodox spin. With consistent all-round shows in the domestic circuit, Tanvir’s selection to the national team was just a matter of time. It came in the year 2007 when he was picked as Shoaib Akhtar’s replacement for the inaugural World T20 Championships.
He had a fairly successful tournament, picking up 6 wickets from 6 matches and earned a spot in the ODI squad for the home series against South Africa. He retained his spot for the tour of India, and earned a Test call up as a replacement for the injured Umar Gul. But a couple of Tests in India were the only games for Tanvir in whites as after that he was type-cast as a white ball bowler. 
Just when it looked like his career was going upwards, a big roadblock stalled his progress. Soon after the World T20 Championships in 2009, a major knee injury hit Tanvir and forced him out of cricket for more than a year. After missing major tours which included New Zealand, Australia and England apart from the T20 World Cup in 2010, Tanvir returned only in December when he was picked for all 3 formats on the tour of New Zealand.
However, he was pulled out of the tour at the last minute as Pakistan Cricket Board was not satisfied with his recovery from injury. Tanvir returned to the domestic circuit and proved his fitness and was picked again for the ODI leg of the New Zealand series. Tanvir was named in the World Cup 2011 squad but was left out at the last minute yet again as PCB wanted an injury-free squad. He returned to the squad only on the tour of Zimbabwe in September 2011.
Meanwhile the caravan of T20 leagues had started and Tanvir represented the Rajasthan Royals Franchise in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League and ended the tournament as the highest wicket taker with 22 scalps to his name. It included a record spell of 6-14 against the Chennai Super Kings. The IPL opened the doors to a barrage of T20 leagues and Tanvir became one of the sought after travellers, playing his trade all over the world in the shortest format of the game.
After being part of every T20 World Cup since the start, Tanvir was not picked for the 2016 edition. Form and injuries have continued to plague him and he made a comeback of some sorts to the T20 team in the tour to Windies, playing 3 T20Is but with modest returns. Sohail hasn’t played an ODI since December 2014.
Tanvir is in tiptop shape this year and ready to hit the field with the squad. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
