In May 2018, he was signed by the English side Derbyshire County Cricket Club to play in the 2018 Royal London One-Day Cup and 2018 t20 Blast tournaments.

Sharif made his debut for Scotland in a One Day International (ODI) against the Netherlands in the 2011-13 Intercontinental Cup One-Day competition in June 2011, taking figures of 4/27. The following month he played two further One Day International's in the tri-nation series against Ireland and Sri Lanka, with both matches played at The Grange, Edinburgh. He later made four List A appearances against English counties in the 2011 Clydesdale Bank 40. In September 2011, Sharif made his first-class debut in the 2011-13 ICC Intercontinental Cup against Namibia at the Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek. Following the match he played in Scotland's two List A matches against Namibia, which formed part of the ICC Intercontinental Cup One-Day competition. During the tour, he also made four Twenty20 appearances against the hosts, taking 8 wickets at an average of 10.37, with best figures of 3/29.^[8]

In February 2012, he made his second first-class appearance against the United Arab Emirates in the Intercontinental Cup.^[6] He was selected as part of Scotland's squad for the World Twenty20 Qualifier which proceeds their series against the United Arab Emirates.^[9]

In March 2018, during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier match against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Sharif took his first five-wicket haul in ODIs.^[10] The match finished as a tie, with Sharif named as the player of the match, with figures of five wickets for 33 runs off 8.4 overs.^[11] Following the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Sharif as the rising star of Scotland's squad.^[12]