Umar Gul (born 15 October 1982) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer. A right-arm fast-medium bowler, he represented Pakistan across all three international formats and was renowned for his mastery of reverse swing with the older ball, earning him the nickname the "Sultan of Reverse Swing." After retiring from playing, he transitioned into coaching roles, including bowling consultant for the Peshawar Zalmi franchise and interim bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team.
| Full name | Umar Gul |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 October 1982 |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Role | Right-arm fast-medium bowler |
| Formats played | Test, ODI, Twenty20 International |
| Notable nickname | Sultan of Reverse Swing |
| Career span | Approximately twenty years |
| Retirement | 16 October 2020 |
| Current roles | Bowling consultant, Peshawar Zalmi; interim bowling coach, Pakistan national team |
Gul played international cricket for Pakistan in all three formats and was particularly effective in limited-overs cricket, where his pace, yorkers, and ability to reverse the old ball made him a frontline strike bowler.
Umar Gul was the second-highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 International cricket, with 74 dismissals, behind Saeed Ajmal. He was awarded the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year for 2013.
On 16 October 2020, following the final group-stage match of the 2020–21 National T20 Cup, Gul announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, drawing the curtain on a career spanning around two decades.
After retiring as a player, Gul moved into coaching. He serves as the bowling consultant of Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League, and has also been appointed as the interim bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team, working with the country's pace bowlers.
Gul is regarded as one of the most influential T20 bowlers of his generation. His success at the 2007 and 2009 ICC global events, where he led the wicket-takers' charts, helped establish the toe-crushing yorker and reverse swing as defining weapons in Twenty20 cricket. His bowling template influenced a subsequent generation of Pakistani fast bowlers.