International career
Zahid Mahmood was born on 20 March 1988 and plays cricket for Southern Punjab in Pakistan. He started playing for the national team in February 2021 and took part in his first international match in the same month. In December 2022, he entered Test cricket and played against England.
- 2020: Zahid Mahmood took his 100th first-class wicket. After that, he was named as one of the Domestic Cricketers of the Year in the PCB Awards.
- 2021: In January, selectors added him to Pakistan’s T20I squad for the series against South Africa. He played his first T20I on 14 February in Lahore. He took three wickets in the match but gave away many runs. In March, his name appeared in the Test squad for the Zimbabwe tour. In June, he stayed in the squad for the West Indies tour. In September, he was picked for the ODI squad to face New Zealand. In October, he joined the Pakistan Shaheens for their Sri Lanka tour. In November, he entered the Test squad again, this time for the Bangladesh series.
- 2022: In February, he was part of the Test squad against Australia. In March, he also joined the squad for ODI matches in the same series. On 29 March, he played his first ODI against Australia in Lahore. On 21 August, he played his last ODI match against the Netherlands in Rotterdam. On 1 December, he played his first Test match against England in Rawalpindi.
- 2024: From 24 to 26 October, Zahid Mahmood played a Test match against England in Rawalpindi. This was the third match in the series. Pakistan won by 9 wickets. The Test series ended 2–1 in favor of Pakistan.
Leagues Participation
Zahid Mahmood has played in the Pakistan Super League across different seasons. He has been part of three teams since 2020.
Pakistan Super League
Zahid Mahmood joined the Pakistan Super League in 2020. He played for Quetta Gladiators in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He made his debut against Lahore Qalandars and took his first PSL wicket by removing Sohail Akhtar. In 2022, he joined Islamabad United as a replacement for Shadab Khan. In 2025, he became part of Karachi Kings.
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Year
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Team
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Notes
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2020
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Quetta Gladiators
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Did not play in matches. Was part of the squad.
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2021
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Quetta Gladiators
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Played matches. Took first PSL wicket against Lahore Qalandars.
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2022
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Islamabad United
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Replaced Shadab Khan after injury during the tournament.
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2025
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Karachi Kings
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Joined the team for the 2025 season.
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Domestic career
Zahid Mahmood began his first-class career in 2009. He played his first match in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy for Hyderabad against Multan. He took 2 wickets in that game. He stayed with Hyderabad during the 2009/10 season. From 2019 to 2023, he played for Southern Punjab. In his first season, he picked up four wickets in three matches. In October 2020, he reached 100 first-class wickets. In that same match, he also took ten wickets across both innings. In December 2020, he was shortlisted for the PCB Domestic Cricketer of the Year award.
His List A career started on February 10, 2010. He played for Hyderabad Hawks against Multan Tigers. He bowled well and kept improving with each season. In 2023, he was the top wicket-taker in the Pakistan Cricket League Cup. He took 10 wickets in four games. His economy rate was 3.82. In September 2024, he played in the Champions One-Day Cup. He took five wickets in a match held in Faisalabad on September 15.
Mahmood started playing T20 cricket in March 2010. He appeared in a match for Hyderabad Hawks against Karachi Dolphins. He got 1 wicket in that game. His strong performance helped him move forward in T20 leagues.
Zahid Mahmood played across formats in domestic cricket. His spin bowling helped his teams in many matches. He stayed consistent and became one of the key bowlers in domestic events in Pakistan.
Records and achievements
Zahid Mahmood has reached important milestones in his cricket career. His bowling helped him earn awards and recognition.
- In 2020, he took his 100th wicket in first-class cricket during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
- In the same tournament, he took 10 wickets for 98 runs in a match, his best so far.
- He was named as a candidate for the PCB Award for Home Player of the Year in 2020.
- In 2021, he joined Pakistan’s T20 International team for the series against South Africa.
- He also joined the national team for the tour to Zimbabwe in 2021.
- In 2023, he became the best wicket-taker in the Pakistan Cricket League Cup while playing for Multan.
Personal life
Zahid Mahmood is from Dadu. His father worked for the government and is now retired. Zahid studied at Ustad Bukhari Degree College. He also earned a degree in physical education from the University of Sindh. Details about his home and cars are not public.
Family
His father worked at NADRA and has retired. There is no public information about a wife or children.
Finance
Zahid’s net worth is estimated between 1 and 3 million dollars.
Scandals
In 2020, Rashid Latif said Zahid Mahmood did not join the Zimbabwe series, despite strong performance. Latif thought this could be because of bias against players from Sindh and South Punjab. In 2022, some people online questioned Zahid’s participation in certain matches. This included his debut against Australia, where he took wickets of Aaron Finch and Alex Carey.
Fans
Zahid Mahmood has about 18,000 followers on Instagram.
