Last September, the Sydney Sixers selected English leg-spinner Jafer Chohan with the final pick in the BBL draft.
It was a surprise to many, but Chohan is no stranger to being overlooked. From training with his university third XI to a life-changing encounter with Joe Root, his journey to professional cricket has been unique.
Now, ahead of Tuesday’s qualifying final against the Hobart Hurricanes, he is determined to finally make his mark on the big stage.
Chohan was originally inspired to bowl leg-spin at the age of six after watching Shane Warne playing for the Rajasthan Royals against Middlesex at Lord’s. Chohan went on to play for Middlesex’s junior teams before being released in 2019 and spending the next two years in a cricketing wilderness that forged his eventual rise to the top of the game.
“I was released by Middlesex and it was a COVID year, so then I was just out for the next two years, 2020 and 2021, because that was my last year of school, and then I took a gap year, so I had two years there really being on my own,” Chohan said.
Sydney Sixers rookie Jafer Chohan.Credit: Getty Images
“There were restrictions on training and, obviously, I wasn’t with a proper academy or a team, so it’s not even like I could do some sessions within COVID restrictions. There was nothing. I was going to parks with my dad or friends, just finding public nets where we could try and go to play.
“That was quite a tough time, but it was also really good as I was so dedicated. I knew this is exactly what I want to do, and I’m not going to feel sorry for myself.
“I was like I’m just going to do everything I can, and if I don’t make it, then I can live with it. So it was a really good thing for me mentally at that point, and then I got to uni and, finally, l could actually train properly.”
Chohan arrived at orientation week at Loughborough University in 2021 ready to knuckle down and study international relations, but also desperate for a fresh start as a cricketer.
He found it in the most unlikely place – pre-season training for the university’s third XI – which was filled with students simply there for their love of the game, not with any aspiration of a professional contract.
“I guess you get sold a dream, and then you end up in the third team and you’re like, OK, this is not ideal, but I did my best to make sure it didn’t discourage me at all,” Chohan recalled.
“I was always training outdoors in December, January, February, sometimes it was only two, three degrees, but you just get some hand warmers on and then try and have a bowl. But that was really good for me, just honing in on my skills and then after that, I played a couple of games for the second team, took seven wickets and five wickets, then ended up in the first team.”
Chohan was eventually offered the opportunity to bowl to the England team at Loughborough and skipped lectures to turn up every day to test himself against some of the world’s best batters, including Joe Root.
“I ended up bowling at Rooty for a couple of hours,” he recalled. “I was just over the moon that he would say ‘well bowled’ to me and I bowled some good balls.
“And then he asked some of the other bowlers to stop bowling at him, but he wanted me to keep bowling, so I felt really encouraged. That made my year.
“And then as we were leaving the net, he was asking me if I played for a team and I just said, ‘no, I don’t play for anyone’. And he just said, ‘Leave me your number and I’ll get in contact with the guys at Yorkshire for you’, and it was completely surreal.”
Jafer Chohan in action for Yorkshire in England.Credit: Getty Images
In 2023, Chohan signed a rookie contract with Yorkshire and after impressing with his county, was picked as a squad member for England’s white-ball tour to the West Indies last October, but did not play.
Chohan has made a single appearance for the Sixers this season, and ahead of Tuesday’s qualifying final against the Hurricanes, the leg-spinner is keen to step up with Todd Murphy and the West Indies’ Akeal Hosein unavailable due to international commitments. The Englishman also has full faith that the Sixers can go all the way in the BBL.
“We’ve got a really strong core group who’ve been around the Sixers for a long time, and these guys all really know what they’re doing and how to win competitions,” Chohan said.
“If we can go to Hobart get a win and have a home final that would be absolutely perfect.”
