Imran Tahir credits son with fueling record-breaking five-for at 47

“For me, my role is obviously to contain the opposition in the middle overs,” Tahir said after leading Amazon Warriors to victory over St Lucia Kings. “I’m an attacking bowler, so if the wickets come, that’s a bonus. My son is the main person pushing me. He keeps telling me, ‘Daddy, one more year… one more year, and then you need to play with me.’ That motivates me, and I want to keep going for him and for the youngsters watching me around the world.”

“I put a lot of hard work into it, and it is rewarding to see it pay off. This is not a personal milestone I am chasing. We work hard to create those moments, but I feel very lucky that I delivered today.”

“I have to because my son, who is travelling with me, asked me to do it (laughs). The celebrations are purely for him,” Tahir said in 2025. “He loves football. I actually don’t even know who Gyökeres is, but I know he’s a footballer. It’s nice. I want to put a smile on my son’s face and, hopefully, on the faces of other people if they enjoy it.”

After Amazon Warriors suffered their first defeat of the CPL season against Antigua & Barbuda Falcons on September 8, they bounced back the following day against Kings, with Tahir’s variations playing a decisive role.

After turning several legbreaks away from right-handed batsman Kamil Pooran and drawing a sliced shot from him, Tahir produced a sharply turning wrong’un to trap Pooran lbw for 43. He celebrated with characteristic enthusiasm, sprinting around the field, performing the “Siuuu” celebration and blowing kisses to the Guyana crowd.

Tahir set up all-rounder Matthew Forde in a similar fashion. Expecting the ball to turn away, Forde played no shot as it zipped past him and crashed into the top of the off stump.

“It was turning a little for me, so I had to show a bit of my leg-spin [also]. Two or three of them spun away,” Tahir said of his plan. “That gets into batters’ heads. I have my straighter ball as well, and I can keep tricking them. They wait for the straighter one or the googly, and the way the ball came out of my hand was excellent.

“My lines and lengths were very good. It pitched on line and turned sharply. You get that at Providence, but in the previous two games I was not getting that kind of bite. Credit goes to the length I bowled.”

Tahir’s five-wicket haul restricted Kings to 119 before Quentin Sampson powered Amazon Warriors’ chase with an unbeaten 37 from 11 balls at a strike rate of 336.36. Only Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford and Darren Bravo have struck at a higher rate for at least 10 balls in a CPL innings.

“We have four players who can come in at any time and change the game with 10 balls,” Tahir said. “Sammo was one of them tonight, and the way he hit the ball was incredible to watch. We know our players have power—Sheppy [Romario Shepherd], [Dwaine] Pretorius and Shamar [Joseph] can hit sixes. The middle order is really solid.”

“The Guyana fans have always supported us, and we are truly grateful to them,” Tahir said. “They come in large numbers every year, and we appreciate their support because playing here feels different from anywhere else. That motivates me too. Trinidad are a very strong team, so this is a good challenge. We are taking it one game at a time and need to come up with our plans. They will have theirs as well, and we cannot wait for the game.”