Musheer Khan: Meet Indian cricket’s prodigious all-rounder

Over the years, Mumbai has produced some of the best cricket talents in India. Emerging from the same city is Musheer Khan, a promising all-rounder and a star in the making.

Musheer was India's best all-rounder at the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He scored 360 runs in seven matches, striking at almost run-a-ball on challenging South African surfaces. Bowling left-arm spin, he picked up seven wickets at an economy rate of under four runs per over.

With centuries against New Zealand and Ireland, Musheer Khan was the second-highest run-scorer in the 2024 U19 World Cup, only behind Indian captain Uday Saharan.

“I am happy with my performances but I won't be satisfied until we win the World Cup,” Musheer Khan told the ICC after India qualified for the knockouts. “As far as being the highest run-getter, I don't really want to think about it.”

Although India lost the final against Australia after beating South Africa in the semis, Musheer emerged as the standout player and earned a spot in the ICC Team of the Tournament alongside Indian players Uday Saharan, Sachin Dhas and Saumy Pandey.

In red-ball cricket, Musheer Khan demonstrated his class when representing Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. Playing only his fourth first-class game, a quarter-final against Baroda in February 2024, Musheer rescued his team with a double century. From 90/4, Mumbai posted 384, courtesy of Musheer Khan’s maiden first-class century.

Where is Musheer Khan from

Born on February 27, 2005, in Kurla, Mumbai, Musheer Khan grew up playing cricket at the city’s famous Azad Maidan. Guiding Musheer through the early years was his father Naushad Khan, a former first-class cricketer with an unfulfilled dream of playing for India. Sarfaraz Khan, who made his Test debut against England in 2024, is the elder brother of Musheer.

On the back of impressive performances in the Giles Shield, Musheer Khan became the youngest to debut in the Kanga League at just eight years old in 2013. His elder brother Sarfaraz, at the age of 10, was the previous youngest debutant in 2007.

On his Kanga League debut, Musheer picked up three wickets against Rajawadi Cricket Club at the Oval Maidan and followed it up with a fifer against Catholic Gymkhana. He ended the Kanga League with 25 wickets from six matches and was named the bowler of the tournament.

In a friendly match between the media and Yuvraj Singh’s academy, an eight-year-old Musheer Khan also picked up the wicket of India’s 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh.

These performances helped Musheer Khan become a mainstay in Mumbai’s age-group cricket teams over the next decade.

Musheer Khan’s cricket career

While his brother Sarfaraz Khan garnered attention through consistency in first-class cricket and IPL stints, Musheer quietly ascended the ranks in age-group cricket.

After doing well in the lower age groups, Musheer Khan got selected in Mumbai’s squad for the 2022 U19 Cooch Behar Trophy, where he earned the Player of the Tournament award for scoring 632 runs and picking up 32 wickets. He was also the second-highest scorer in the 2022 Vinoo Mankad Trophy.

Musheer’s performances in the U19 Cooch Behar Trophy paved the way for his selection in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy team in December 2022.

Though Musheer did not have a breakthrough Ranji season, he smashed 339 off 367 balls against Hyderabad in the U-25 CK Nayudu Trophy in January 2023. His innings included 34 fours and nine sixes.

In November 2023, Musheer, representing India B in the U19 One Day Challenger Trophy in Guwahati, scored 139 runs in the final against India A and also picked up 3/35. With 268 runs from three innings, Musheer was the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament.

Subsequently, Musheer was named in the Indian squad for the 2023 U19 Asia Cup in Dubai and the following tri-series against the hosts South Africa and Afghanistan in December-January.

Musheer was also named in India’s squad for the U19 World Cup in South Africa, making him second from the family after Sarfaraz Khan to get selected for India at the youth level.

Speaking to the ICC, Musheer revealed that some brotherly advice from Sarfaraz helped him cope with the pressure of playing in a Cricket World Cup.

“His (Sarfaraz) focus was always on scoring runs and on the process without worrying about the result. My focus, too, is on the process,” Musheer said.

“The first thing he told me (before the U19 World Cup) was that there is no bigger pride than playing for India so enjoy yourself whenever you get a chance – be it with the bat or ball,” Musheer added.

Musheer scored a double hundred against Baroda in the Ranji Trophy 2024 quarter-finals before coming up with a record-breaking knock against Vidarbha in the final. Playing the match just two weeks after his 19th birthday, the youngster scored a hundred in the second innings to become the youngest Mumbai batter to notch up a century in a Ranji Trophy final.

The previous record belonged to Sachin Tendulkar, who scored tons in both innings against Punjab in the 1994-95 Ranji final.

Musheer made his Duleep Trophy debut in September 2024 and marked the occasion with a century while playing for India B against India A in Bengaluru.

As cricket returns to the Olympic fold in the T20 format at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, Musheer Khan, with more experience and age on his side, will be one of the strong contenders for a spot in the Indian cricket team.