He has watched Dhoni’s biopic – Dhoni: The Untold Story hundreds of times while living in Dubai in the scorching afternoon, heat, fatigue and with the labourers. Especially that scene, when Dhoni leaves the railway job and runs away to catch the train.
“When I used to watch Dhoni running in the movie, I used to feel the pinch of my salesman’s uniform. I felt that if I did not get off this ‘Dubai job’ train today, I would never be able to become a cricketer. I felt myself standing on the platform where on one side was the poverty of the house and on the other side was my unfulfilled dream.”
When his body gave up after working 12-14 hours in the heat of Dubai, the film reassured him that
“Struggle is temporary, success is permanent. While watching the film, I used to see my face and not Dhoni’s.”
But was it easy for him to leave the job and come back?
No, because people told his mother that
“Your son has gone mad, leaving his good job in Dubai and sweating in the sun.” Usman tells that he used to wake up at 4 in the morning and go for running so that he could avoid the taunts of the people and concentrate completely on the game. Today the same neighbors distribute sweets outside his house.
But in such a different way, how did Usman suddenly get a chance in the Pakistani team?
There is a name behind this Pakistani batsman Fakhar Zaman. Usman reached Fakhar Zaman through a friend, where Fakhar was practicing for the net. Usman bowled to him in the nets and with his ‘mysterious pause’ he completely defeated Fakhar in three-four consecutive balls. Fakhar was so surprised that he stopped the net session and asked Usman,
“Where have you been till now?” Fakhar himself immediately called the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa selectors and coach Wajahatullah Wasti and said, “A boy has been found whom the world has not seen till now.”
Fakhar Zaman later said in an interview,
“I have seen many talented boys, but Usman had a different kind of ‘stubbornness’ in his eyes. The man who dreamed of living in a labor camp does not come to the field to accept defeat. What impressed me more was his story than his bowling.”
Fakhar’s fight against the ‘system’
It is difficult for an outsider to make a place in the structure of Pakistan’s domestic cricket. But Fakhar took a ‘personal guarantee’ for Usman. Fakhar called up Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s coaches and selectors and said, “I have a bowler who is impossible to play in the nets. Just take a look at him.” He was included in the trial only on Fakhar’s insistence. Fakhar also sponsored him with his cricket kit and shoes so that Usman did not lack anything.
Fakhar not only helped Usman get a place in the team, but also prepared him mentally. When Usman’s action was first questioned and he feared that his career would be over, Fakhar had told him, “Don’t be afraid, you are clean. Just keep working hard, I will take care of the rest.” It was as a result of Fakhar Zaman’s recommendations and Usman’s own hard work that his discussion reached Quetta Gladiators’ mentor Sarfaraz Ahmed. When Sarfaraz saw Usman’s video, he immediately decided to include him in his team.
Osman Tariq
What did Usman do before becoming a cricketer?
Usman Tariq is currently 30 years old and was born on 7 June 1995 in Nowshehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Due to poor financial condition of the house, he had to wander in search of work at a very young age, he even went to Afghanistan in search of work. After this he moved to Dubai, where he did small jobs ranging from cutting onions to being a salesman in a hotel. His struggle in Dubai was so tough that he lived in a labor camp in Sonapur, where 20 other people lived with him in a small room. Even amidst such scarcity and crowd, he did not let his dream of becoming a cricketer die.
Controversy over bowling action
Despite all the controversies, his bowling action has been cleared by ICC. Usman says that there is no artificial method behind his unique action, but a physical reason. His elbow is ‘double-jointed’, due to which his arm bends slightly differently. He has been completely cleared in the PCB and ICC biomechanical tests.
How did you get a chance in the national team?
For Usman Tariq, playing for Quetta Gladiators in PSL was the biggest turning point of his career. Here he surprised everyone with his magical bowling, after which he got a chance to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). There he bowled brilliantly for Trinbago Knight Riders and took 20 wickets, seeing which the Pakistani selectors immediately called him in the national team. Finally, on 1 November 2025, his dream came true and he played his first international match against South Africa. Today i.e. in February 2026, he has become a main bowler of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup team.