Aarif Sheikh
Nepalese cricketer (born 1997)
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Aarif Sheikh (Nepali: आरिफ शेख्; born 5 October 1997) is a Nepalese cricketer, who has been a former vice-captain of the Nepal under-19 cricket team and currently plays for the senior team. Aarif is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler.[1] He made his List A debut for Nepal in the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament against Namibia on 21 January 2015.[2] He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Nepal's first ever One Day International (ODI) match, against the Netherlands, in August 2018.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Md Aarif Sheikh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 October 1997 Birgunj, Nepal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm medium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Aasif Sheikh (brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| ODI debut (cap 1) | 1 August 2018 v Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 4 November 2024 v Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut (cap 18) | 29 July 2018 v Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 8 February 2026 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I shirt no. | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | APF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Panchakanya Tej | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2021 | Bhairahawa Gladiators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–present | Nepal Police Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Pokhara Avengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024—present | Sudurpaschim Royals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source: ESPNcricinfo,, 7 November 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
His younger brother, Aasif Sheikh, also plays for the national team as a Wicket-keeper batter. Aarif has been known for guiding his younger brother as a mentor in their childhood. They have been playing together in the national team since 2021, mostly in ODI-Format of the game.
Career
Early career
Aarif first represented the Nepal Under-19s in the 2014 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup in December 2013. He scored 25 runs against Pakistan,[3] 40 runs against India[4] and 48 runs against UAE[5] in the tournament.
In the national one-day tournament held in Kathmandu, he was named Player of the Tournament where he scored a total of 261 runs with an average of 52.20 and picked up 11 wickets.[6]
Following his impressive performances in the national tournament, he was selected in the national squad for the 2014 ACC Premier League.[7] Playing his debut match for Nepal, he picked up 2 wickets against Hong Kong where he also bowled the Hong Kong captain Jamie Atkinson.[8] He also picked up 2 wickets in the match against Afghanistan.[9]
He went to India along with his teammate Karan KC in September 2014 for a 10-day training at Just Cricket Academy in Bangalore before participating in the 2014 ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament.[10]
He represented Nepal Under-19s in the 2014 ACC Under-19 Premier League, where he was the second leading run scorer. He scored 190 runs in 5 innings at an average of 38.00.[11] He made List A debut in 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia in January 2015.[12]
2018-present
He was a member of Nepal's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.[13]
In July 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad for their One Day International (ODI) series against the Netherlands.[14] These were Nepal's first ODI matches since gaining ODI status during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.[15] He made his Twenty20 debut for Nepal in the 2018 MCC Tri-Nation Series against the Marylebone Cricket Club on 29 July 2018.[16] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) on the same day, against the Netherlands.[17] He made his ODI debut for Nepal against the Netherlands on 1 August 2018.[18]
In August 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad for the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament.[19] In October 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad in the Eastern sub-region group for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Asia Qualifier tournament.[20]
He made his first-class debut on 6 November 2019, for Nepal against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), during the MCC's tour of Nepal.[21][22] Later the same month, he was named in Nepal's squads for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh,[23] and the men's cricket tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games.[24] The Nepal team won the bronze medal, after they beat the Maldives by five wickets in the third-place playoff match.[25] In September 2020, he was one of eighteen cricketers to be awarded with a central contract by the Cricket Association of Nepal.[26]
In January 2026, Sheikh was named in Nepal's squad for 2026 T20I World Cup.[27]