Khalid Latif (Cricketer) Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Khalid Latif is a former Pakistani cricketer who played five ODIs and 13 T20Is for the national side from 2008 to 2016. He played as an opening batsman in international cricket for Pakistan. He was captain of the Pakistani side which won the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and a bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Games. In 2023, he made headlines when a court in the Netherlands sentenced him to 12 years in prison for attempting to provoke the murder of Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

Wiki/Biography

Khalid Latif was born on Monday, 4 November 1985 (age 38 years; as of 2023) in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. His zodiac sign is Scorpio.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Hair Colour: Dark Brown

Eye Colour: Light Brown

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Muhammad Latif.

Wife & Children

He got married at Jamia Masjid Al Furqan Malir Cantt in 2022.

Religion/Religious Views

Khalid Latif follows Islam.

Career

Domestic 

He entered the domestic circuit just five days before his 15th birthday. He made his first-class debut in the 2000/01 season and List A debut in the 2001/02. He represented Karachi Blues, Pakistan A, and Pakistan U-19 in the 2000/01 season. He has also captained the Port Qasim Authority team, a first-class cricket team which plays in the domestic circuit of Pakistan.

He didn’t manage to leave a significant mark until he made his Youth Test debut in 2003. On 25 April 2005, he made his T20 debut for Karachi Zebras against Multan Tigers at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. In 2005, Latif achieved his first-ever century in first-class cricket, ending the season with nearly 400 runs to his name. He played for the limited-overs cricket team Karachi Dolphins from 2005 to 2015. In 2009, he captained Karachi Dolphins for two matches. On 26 March 2012, he scored 88 off 61 leading Karachi Dolphins to a 32-run win over Rawalpindi Rams in the 2012 Super 8 Twenty20 Cup. He was named Player of the Match. In the final against Sialkot Stallions, Khalid gave an impressive performance carrying his bat through the innings to finish with 81 off 59, but Sialkot Stallions won by 8 wickets. He emerged as the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 243 runs. A notable player of the team, Khalid scored the most runs (1057) for Karachi Dolphins before it dissolved in 2016. Latif scored close to 600 runs in the 2007-08 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy following which he was included in the Patron’s XI line-up to play the touring Zimbabweans. He was a part of Islamabad United in the 2016 Pakistan Super League (PSL) that won its maiden title defeating Quetta Gladiators by 6 wickets in the final.

He played for Sindh in the 2016 Pakistan Cup. His career highlights include smashing an unbeaten 168 for Sindh against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) during the 2016 Pakistan Cup. Latif’s 168-run innings is ranked as the third highest in Pakistan’s list A cricket history for chasing targets, following Naved Malik’s 179 and Asif Zakir’s 176 not out. Under his captaincy, Karachi Blues won the 2016–17 Jazz National T20 Cup, defeating Karachi Whites by 3 runs in the final.

International

He was appointed captain of Pakistan Under-19s for a series against Sri Lanka in which he scored 77 in the first match. Khalid Latif captained the Pakistani side which won the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Pakistan claimed its maiden title defeating West Indies in the final by 25 runs at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka. In the tournament, he emerged as Pakistan’s top run-scorer, amassing a total of 291 runs across eight innings.

He was called up to the ODI side in 2008 but played just five games over two years. On 30 January 2008, he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. Pakistan won by 7 wickets. On 12 October 2008, he made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe at Maple Leaf North-West Ground, King City. Pakistan won by 7 wickets. He was named to the national squad for Pakistan v New Zealand ODI Series 2009/10. In November 2009, in the 1st ODI against New Zealand, he played a composed inning, amassing 64 runs from 112 deliveries in a match that Pakistan won by 138 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Latif captained the Pakistan cricket team in the 2010 Asian Games in which Pakistan won a bronze medal after losing to Afghanistan in the semi-finals. Then, he was named to the Pakistani squad for the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. On 7 September 2016, he scored 59 off 42 which helped his side beat England in the only T20I. He played 13 T20Is over an eight-year period, the last against the West Indies in 2016 when the West Indian cricket team toured the UAE to play three T20Is, ODIs, and Test matches against Pakistan. Pakistan won the T20I series by 3–0.

In 2017, he was banned from all forms of cricket for five years in a spot-fixing scandal.

Bangladesh Premier League

He played for Comilla Victorians in the 2016–17 Bangladesh Premier League. Comilla Victorians were the defending champions but were eliminated in the group stage.

Controversies

Spot-Fixing Scandal (2017)

On 10 February 2017, Khalid Latif and Islamabad United batsmen Sharjeel Khan were provisionally suspended under the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code as part of an ongoing investigation into an organisation’s alleged attempts to corrupt the 2017 Pakistan Super League in the UAE. The PCB’s investigation was backed by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit. A week after they were sent home from the Pakistan Super League, the pair were formally charged by the PCB for violating the anti-corruption code. The right-handed top-order batsman was facing six charges, including that of persuading or attempting to persuade three other cricketers — Mohammad Irfan, Shahzaib Hasan and Sharjeel Khan — to get involved in spot-fixing that marred the 2017 PSL. Khalid Latif was allegedly given bat grips by bookies to indicate that he would spot-fix. In Khalid’s defence, his lawyer Badr Alam claimed that he received death threats stating that “if he tried to create a nuisance or resist in the spot-fixing case he would himself buried between the graves of his parents in Karachi.” On 20 September, Latif received a five-year ban from all forms of cricket in a short verdict announced by a three-man PCB tribunal. He was also fined ₨. 1 million (approx. USD 9,489). Latif did not show up to hear the verdict being announced.

Sentenced for Provoking the Murder of Geert Wilders (2023)

In September 2023, a Dutch court sentenced Khalid Latif to 12 years in prison after being accused of encouraging people to murder Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders. The court cited a video posted by Latif in 2018 in which he had offered a PKR 3 million (EUR 21,000 approx. at the time) reward for the murder of Wilders. This occurred during a period of intense protests against Wilders in Pakistan, following his announcement of a cartoon contest featuring depictions of Prophet Mohammad. In Islam, it is forbidden to depict the Prophet Mohammad, and most Muslims consider caricatures of him to be deeply offensive. The court ruled that statements by Latif should be regarded as incitement to murder, sedition and threat. Latif, who lived in Pakistan, was tried in absentia. He did not attend any stage of the trial or was detained in the Netherlands. There were no agreements between the Netherlands and Pakistan regarding legal cooperation or the extradition of individuals, and efforts to seek cooperation in this case went unanswered.

Facts/Trivia

• His bowling style is right-arm offbreak, and his batting style is right-hand bat.

• He was a part of the Mlair Gymkhana club.

• His jersey number for Pakistan was #35.

• In January 2010, during the 5th ODI at Perth against Australia, Latif was brought down from behind by a spectator who rushed onto the field. Latif emerged unscathed and the spectator was charged with assault and given a life ban from the ground. Later, the ICC asked Cricket Australia for a detailed report on the breach of security.

  Khalid Latif being brought down by a pitch invader in 2010, during the 5th ODI at Perth against Australia