Saad Bin Zafar (; born 10 November 1986) is a Pakistani-Canadian cricketer who represents Canada in international cricket and is the current captain of the Canadian national cricket team. Saad is a left-handed all-rounder.
As a bowler, Saad holds the world record for completing his maximum quota of overs (4 overs in a 20-over match) without conceding a run in a men's T20I match and has the 7th most maiden overs bowled in T20I career.
As a batsman, Saad also currently holds the record for the 3rd highest strike rate of 414.28 in a T20I innings.
Early career At the age of 10, he started playing tape ball cricket with friends on the streets. Later at the age of 14, his school's sports teacher spotted Saad and introduced him to Leather ball cricket by selecting him for the junior school cricket team. In 2004, he started playing club cricket for Overseas Cricket club in Premier Division.
In 2005, Saad was selected in Canada's U19 squad for the 2005 ICC Americas Under-19 Championship. However, he was subsequently withdrawn from the squad after it was determined that he did not meet the International Cricket Council's (ICC) four-year residency requirement.https://www.facebook.com/reel/905845715130221 While enrolled at the Scarborough campus at the University of Toronto he got the opportunity to lead CIMA Toronto Mayor's Team XI which toured to England under the program of Cricket Across the Pond in 2010. He had an impressive all-round performance by scoring 275 runs and bagged 11 wickets. He also had a successful stint as a skipper of Mayor's Team XI by winning 7 out of their 9 matches on the tour. He scored 262 not out in a 50 over game in Scarborough Cricket League Premier Division in August 2015.
Domestic and T20 franchise career In January 2017, he played for the ICC Americas in the 2016–17 Regional Super50 and was the leading wicket-taker for his team. In his 9 wickets that season, he was able to dismiss the likes of Shai Hope, Jermaine Blackwood, and Chadwick Walton.
On 3 June 2018, he was selected to play for the Vancouver Knights in the players' draft for the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada tournament. Saad was the second Canadian player to be selected in the draft after Nikhil Dutta in round 9. In his third match against Montreal Tigers his bowling figure was 3/21 in 4 overs. In his fifth match against Toronto Nationals he took 2/22 in 3.5 overs and scored unbeaten 12 in 47-run winning partnership with Chadwick Walton.
In the final match of 2018 Global T20 Canada against West Indies B cricket team, he took wickets of Fabian Allen and Brandon King by giving away 26 runs in 4 overs, also having a wicket maiden over. Vancouver Knights didn't have an ideal start to the chase as Chadwick Walton, Chris Gayle and Ben Dunk fell cheaply to leave them at 22 for 3 but Saad and Rassie van der Dussen came up with a crucial unbeaten 126-run partnership to get Knights back on track in the chase. Saad played the role of an aggressor, dealing in regular boundaries to bring up a 32-ball fifty. He collected eight fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 48-ball stay for 79 runs. Saad was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant all-round performance.
In September 2018, he was called up as a replacement player of Bangladesh's allrounder Mahmudullah by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for CPL playoffs .
In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Vancouver Knights franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament.. He had a successful tournament by being the leading wicket-taker for the Vancouver Knights.
In the Qualifier 1 against Brampton Wolves, Saad was able to pick up 4 wickets by only giving 22 runs in 4 overs. He bowled exceptionally well in the 8th over in which he bagged 3 wickets by only giving 1 run which included the wicket of Shahid Afridi on a golden duck and the captain Colin Munro, who scored the fastest 50 of the tournament. His outstanding bowling spell got him the well-deserved man of the match award and led the Vancouver Knights into finals. In the final match against Winnipeg Hawks, he had an 86-run 5th wicket partnership with Shoaib Malik and 53-run 6th wicket partnership with Andre Russell. Due to the high run rate requirement, Vancouver couldn't find success chasing the 192 target set by the Hawks and loss in the super over.
In July 2019, he was selected to play for the Amsterdam Knights in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament. However, the following month the tournament was cancelled.
In December 2019, he was selected to play for the Falcon Hunters in the Qatar T10 League. Falcon Hunters were named Champions for the inaugural season by beating Swift Gallopers by 4 wickets. Saad had a successful tournament just like his team by being the fifth leading wicket-taker of the season.
In July 2020, he was named in the St Lucia Zouks squad for the 2020 Caribbean Premier League.
In September 2020, he was added to the Houston Hurricanes squad for the 2021 Minor League Cricket season. He was later traded to the Michigan Cricket Stars. He was the most economical bowler for Michigan Cricket Stars with 5.7 economy rate and was able to pick up 14 wickets from 12 matches.
In July 2022, he was selected to play for the Muzaffarabad Tigers following the players' draft for the 2022 Kashmir Premier League. Despite Muzaffarabad Tigers ending up at the bottom of the points table, Saad had a successful stint by being the 3rd most economical bowler of the season with the economy rate of 6.26 from 5 matches.
In June 2023, he was the first Canadian player to be drafted for 2023 Global T20 Canada by Toronto Nationals. In his 3rd match against Surrey Jaguars, his bowling figure was 2/14 in 4 overs, including the wickets of Alex Hales and Liton Das. In his 4th match against Mississauga Panthers he bowled exceptionally well with the bowling figure of 3/31 including the wicket of James Neesham. There was some controversy in Toronto national's last match against Vancouver knight Saad had taken the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan as Zaman Khan clearly caught the ball on camera but the third umpire decided to gift Rizwan a life by giving it a not out.
In August 2023, he was appointed the captain of New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers for the 2023 Minor League Cricket season. He ended the season with being the 4th most economical bowler of the tournament with the economy rate of 3.82 from 9 matches.
In June 2024, he was retained to play for the Toronto Nationals franchise team in the 2024 Global T20 Canada tournament. Toronto Nationals were named Champions for Season 4 by beating the defending champions Montreal Tigers by 8 wickets. Just like the Nationals, Saad had a successful season by being the 2nd most economical bowler of the tournament with the economy rate of 4.18 from 6 matches.
In August 2024, he was selected to play for the New Jersey Somerset Cavaliers for the 2024 Minor League Cricket season.
In November 2024, he was signed to play for Lumbini Lions in the inaugural season of Nepal Premier League. Despite Lumbini Lions failing to make it to the playoffs, he consistently performed well with bat, bowl and in field for his team. He was leading wicket-taker for his team with 9 dismissals. He was also leading catch taker for his team with 6 catches. He batted with 2nd best strike rate in his team scoring 83 runs with the strike rate off 131.74. In the 16th match of the tournament, Saad formed the highest 5th-wicket partnership of the tournament by scoring 114 runs together with Rohit Paudel.
In September 2025, He was signed to play for Houston Generals for the 2025 National Cricket League USA season and was the leading wicket-taker for his team with 8 wickets.https://www.crictracker.com/national-cricket-t10-league/stats/bowling-top-wicket-takers/
In July 2026, He was drafted by Mississauga Masters for the 2026 Canada Super 60 season.https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/teams-announce-their-squads-after-2026-canada-super60-draft-5881/
International career Early years In June 2008 Saad was named in Canada's Squad for the 2007–08 ICC Intercontinental Cup. He made his International debut on 4 July 2008 playing against Bermuda. He looked impressive in his debut as he took 4 wickets, including the wicket of Bermuda's captain Irving Romaine who was close to scoring a century.
In December 2009, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2010 Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Sri Lanka. In January 2010, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates. He made his T20 debut against UAE in the 9th match of the tournament.
Comeback In April 2015, he made a comeback into international cricket by getting named in Canada's squad for the 2015 ICC Americas Twenty20 Division One. In June 2015, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament hosted by Scotland and Ireland. He was the most economical bowler for Canada with 6.23 economy rate from 5 matches.
In May 2017, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2017 ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Uganda. In January 2018, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia. In August 2018, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Americas Qualifier tournament in Morrisville, North Carolina.
In April 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia. Even though Canada was not able to gain ODI status but he had a successful tournament by being the leading wicket-taker for Canada, with 11 dismissals in 6 matches. In August 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier tournament. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Canada against the Cayman Islands on 18 August 2019. In September 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A tournament and was the most economical bowler for Canada with the economy rate of 3.50 from 5 matches.
In October 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates. He was the leading wicket-taker for Canada in the tournament, with 9 dismissals in 5 matches.
In October 2021, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier tournament in Antigua. On 14 November 2021, in Canada's match against Panama, Saad became the first bowler to bowl four overs in a T20I match without conceding a run. In February 2022, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier A tournament in Oman.
In July 2024, he was named in Canada's ODI and T20I squad for the 2024 Netherlands Tri-Nation Series. Saad had a successful tour by being the leading wicket taker for Canada in both ODI and T20I Series by picking up 13 wickets collectively. On 16 August 2024, in Canada's match against USA, Saad became the first Canadian to pick up 50 wickets in T20I .
In September 2024, he was named in Canada's ODI and T20I squad for the 2024 Canada Tri-Nation Series. He had an exceptional all-round performance as he finished the T20I series by being the leading run scorer and leading wicket taker for Canada In February, he was named in Canada's ODI and T20I squad for the 2025 Namibia Tri-Nation Series.
In April 2025, he was named in Canada's squad for 2025 North American Cup held in Cayman Islands. He finished the tournament by being the 2nd leading wicket taker and most economical bowler for Canada in the tournament with 9 wickets. In May 2025, he was named in Canada's squad for 2025 United States Tri-Nation Series