A Dhoni film and a dream reborn: Tariq's road to the World Cup

In 2015, Usman Tariq opted to move to Dubai to find a good job. Having lost his father when he was not even four, he was the only breadwinner in the family and decided to opt out of cricket. Having done a few short stints at different jobs, the tall and strapping man from Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who bowled both seam and spin then, found a stable job as a purchase coordinator in a real estate firm in Dubai.

In late 2016, Tariq saw MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, the movie depicting the life story of the former India captain. Tariq, who is about 6'1" tall, was stirred by Dhoni's tale. The fact that Dhoni worked as a ticket checker in Indian Railways before switching to cricket is what stood out for Tariq, who decided to train hard to be a cricketer with utmost devotion again. As a result, he is playing for Pakistan at the men's T20 World Cup 2026.

"I came back to cricket after watching the MS Dhoni movie," Tariq said on Tuesday in Colombo. "After watching that movie, I felt our stories were similar. I was doing a job and he was also doing a job (before taking cricket seriously). So I felt like here's a person who has created history. I am a simple human being, too. Perhaps I can adopt the same pathway but I would need to do a lot of hard work like all others have done. I came back to cricket just because of MS Dhoni."

The hard work paid off. After auditioning successfully in the various franchise leagues including CPL, PSL and ILT20 over the past few years, Tariq earned his Pakistan cap in the T20I series against Australia in January, and made his T20 World Cup debut by picking up three wickets against USA. He was well and truly under the spotlight in the lead up to the most talked-about match of the tournament.

The series against Australia put focus on Tariq's bowling action and it intensified before the game against India, with not just fans and media, but former players, too, professing opinions on the action, pause and variations. Tariq has remained unruffled through it all, and reiterated on Tuesday that it is the "process" that has mattered to him. He enjoyed the attention his bowling has generated, which has included opposition players trying to imitate his action. That included Suryakumar Yadav on the eve of India's game against Pakistan.

"It is a good sign for me, I guess, that opposition teams are preparing for me on how to tackle Usman Tariq," he said. "I get more confidence from the fact that there is some special preparation being done to play against me. I am also enjoying every moment."

At the R Premadasa Stadium, which was filled with 90% fans supporting India, Tariq displayed a semblance of calmness that probably embarrassed the more experienced trio of Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmad. They allowed Indian batters to release the pressure but Tariq tried to keep Pakistan in the game. Barring the 10-run second over, Tariq conceded 6, 4 and 5 runs in his other overs and returned the wicket of Suryakumar in the penultimate over of the innings as the Indian captain failed to clear the long boundary at deep midwicket. Tariq celebrated the prized wicket with his trademark gesture, which has a touch of respect and class. Figures of 4-0-25-1 are good against the most dangerous team in this T20 World Cup.

Tariq, though, said he would play it differently if the match was played again.

"Pakistan-India matches are seen by both nations and across the world. Honestly, I was feeling this match as an opportunity, a big opportunity where I can earn a name. I tried my level-best. Personally, I felt I wasn't up to the mark. If I ever get (to play such) a match again I would love to do much better than what I did in the last game (against India).

"I was feeling that the way the Indian batters were playing me, they were quite focussed. They did not want to give the wicket to Usman so they stuck to their plans while I was persisting with my own plans to try and get us a wicket. At the end of the day, I was on the safer side - even if I could not get a wicket I did not concede that many runs. It is an advantage for the team if you come to bowl at a crucial time, death overs, and don't concede much. I felt it was an advantage for me, too."

One other feeling that pulled Tariq in the direction of cricket after watching the Dhoni biopic was he wanted to be famous. He is five internationals old, but already the cricketing world now knows who Usman Tariq is.