# Saudi Arabia national cricket team

The Saudi Arabia national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Saudi Arabia in international cricket. The team is organized by the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2003 and an associate member in 2016. Saudi Arabia made its international debut at the 2004 ACC Trophy in Malaysia, and has since played regularly in Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments. After finishing second in the 2014 ACC Elite League, the team qualified for the World Cricket League for the first time. Saudi Arabia was due to compete in the 2015 Division Six event, but members of the team were denied visas by the host country, forcing the team to withdraw.

## History

The international debut of the Saudi senior team came in the ACC Trophy in 2004, where they failed to progress beyond the first round. They again failed to go past the first round in 2006, but had the remarkable achievement of scoring 499 runs in 50 overs against Brunei. Earlier in the year they came fourth in the Middle East Cup.
Arguably their greatest moment in international cricket to date came in the 2008 ACC Trophy Elite when they defeated the UAE by 29 runs, a team which has had previous One Day International experience.
With the separation of the ACC Trophy into Elite and Challenge divisions, following their performance at the 2006 ACC Trophy Saudi Arabia they competed in the Elite division in the 2008 competition, in which they came 10th. This result relegated them to the 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge, in which they did not appear. They did, however, appear in the 2010 competition, in which they came 2nd and gained promotion back to the Elite division.
Besides the 50 over format, Saudi Arabia have also played in the Twenty20 format of the game in the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup, in which they failed to progress beyond the group stage, and the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup, in which they came 8th.

### 2018-present

In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Saudi Arabia and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 will be a full T20I.
Saudi Arabia made its Twenty20 International debut on 20 January 2019, losing to Bahrain by 41 runs in the 2019 ACC Western Region T20 at Al Emarat Cricket Stadium, Muscat, Oman.
* 20 January 2019 09:30 Scorecard
| Bahrain 176/4 (20 overs) | v | Saudi Arabia 135/9 (20 overs) |
| Imran Ali 58 (53) Usman Ali 1/24 (4 overs) | | Muhammad Naeem 42 (36) Babar Ali 2/18 (3 overs) |
* Bahrain won by 41 runs Al Amerat Cricket Stadium, Muscat Umpires: Afzalkhan Pathan (Oma) and Zahid Usman (Kuw) Player of the match: Sarfaraz Ali (Bhr)
* Saudi Arabia won the toss and elected to field.
* First ever T20I match for Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia won the 2023 ACC Men's Challenger Cup in Thailand, finishing undefeated to qualify for the 2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup in Nepal. The team defeated Bahrain in the tournament final by 10 wickets, after bowling Bahrain out for just 26 runs.

## Tournament history
### Asia Cup Qualifier

ACC Asia Cup Qualifier record :
| Year/Host | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
| 2016 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2018 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2022 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| Total | 0/3 | 0 Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### ACC Western Region T20

ACC Western Region T20 record :
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
| 2019 | Winner | 1/5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Group stages | – | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2/2 | 0 Titles | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |

### ACC Trophy

ACC Trophy record :
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
| 1996 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 1998 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2000 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2002 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2004 | Group stages | 11/15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | Group stages | 10/17 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Group stages | 10/10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2012 | Group stages | 9/10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 4/9 | 0 Titles | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 |

### ACC Twenty20 Cup

ACC Twenty20 Cup record :
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
| 2007 | Group stages | 8/10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | Group stages | 10/12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | Group stages | 10/10 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2015 | Group stages | 3/6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 4/5 | 0 Titles | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 |

### ACC Men's Challenger Cup

ACC Men's Challenger Cup record :
| Year/Host | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
| 2023 | Winner | 1/8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Winner | 1/10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2/2 | 2 Titles | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### ACC Men's Premier Cup

ACC Men's Premier Cup record :
| Year/Host | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
| 2023 | Group stages | 8/10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024 | Group stages | 7/10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2/2 | 0 Titles | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 |

## Coaching history

* 2021-present: Kabir Khan

## Current squad

This lists all players who played for Saudi Arabia in the past 12 months or were in the most recent One-day or T20I squads. Uncapped players are listed in italics.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Formats | Notes |
| Batters ||||||
| Abdul Waheed | 31 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | One-day & T20I | Vice-captain |
| Waqar ul Hassan | 32 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | One-day | |
| Faisal Khan | 28 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Onde-day & T20I | |
| Saad Khan | 37 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | T20I | |
| Kashif Siddique | 35 | Left-handed | | One-day | |
| Zuhair Muhammad | 19 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | One-day & T20I | |
| All-rounders ||||||
| Hisham Shaikh | 28 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | One-day & T20I | Captain |
| Waji ul Hassan | 29 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | One-day & T20I | |
| Usman Khalid | 41 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | One-day & T20I | |
| Kashif Abbas | 37 | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | T20I | |
| Wicketkeepers ||||||
| Manan Ali | 27 | Right-handed | | One-day & T20I | |
| Haseeb Ghafoor | 41 | Right-handed | | One-day & T20I | |
| Spin Bowlers ||||||
| Zain ul Abidin | 32 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | One-day & T20I | |
| Imran Yousuf | 37 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | One-day | |
| Usman Ali | 37 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | T20I | |
| Pace Bowlers ||||||
| Ishtiaq Ahmad | 31 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | One-day & T20I | |
| Atif ur Rehman | 43 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | One-day & T20I | |
| Usman Najeeb | 29 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | One-day & T20I | |
| Shahzaib | 31 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | One-day | |
| Ahmad Raza | 20 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | T20I | |
Updated as on 14 April 2024

## Records

International Match Summary — Saudi Arabia
Last updated 19 December 2024
Playing Record :
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
| Twenty20 Internationals | 54 | 29 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 20 January 2019 |

### Twenty20 International

* Highest team total: 221/3 v. Bhutan on 15 February 2024 at Terdthai Cricket Ground , Bangkok.
* Highest individual score: 115*, Waji Ul Hassan v. Bhutan on 15 February 2024 at Terdthai Cricket Ground , Bangkok.
* Best individual bowling figures: 5/6, Zain Ul Abidin v. Bhutan on 15 February 2024 at Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok.
| Player | Runs | Average | Career span |
| Faisal Khan | 1,402 | 30.86 | 2019–2024 |
| Abdul Waheed | 1,251 | 32.92 | 2020–2024 |
| Manan Ali | 554 | 21.30 | 2023–2024 |
| Hisham Shaikh | 440 | 23.15 | 2021–2024 |
| Waji Ul Hassan | 434 | 27.12 | 2024–2024 |
| Player | Wickets | Average | Career span |
| Usman Najeeb | 50 | 17.12 | 2022–2024 |
| Ishtiaq Ahmad | 47 | 19.29 | 2021–2024 |
| Hisham Shaikh | 32 | 20.56 | 2021–2024 |
| Zain Ul Abidin | 34 | 23.58 | 2021–2024 |
| Usman Khalid | 21 | 17.90 | 2021–2024 |
T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #3074. Last updated 19 December 2024.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
| vs Associate Members ||||||||
| Bahrain | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 January 2019 | 20 November 2022 |
| Bhutan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 February 2024 | 3 February 2024 |
| Cambodia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 February 2024 | 1 February 2024 |
| Canada | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 November 2022 | |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 April 2024 | 14 April 2024 |
| Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 February 2024 | 5 February 2024 |
| Iran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 February 2019 | 24 February 2019 |
| Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 February 2024 | 9 February 2024 |
| Kuwait | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 January 2019 | 24 January 2019 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 April 2024 | |
| Maldives | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 January 2019 | 22 January 2019 |
| Nepal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 April 2024 | |
| Oman | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 November 2022 | 18 December 2024 |
| Qatar | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21 January 2019 | 24 January 2019 |
| Thailand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 February 2024 | 13 February 2024 |
| United Arab Emirates | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25 February 2020 | 19 December 2024 |