Who is Pakistan’s new mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed?
Babar Azam-led Pakistan have locked horns with the newly crowned T20 Champions, England in the second of the three-match Test series at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Opting to bat first, England were bundled out for 281 runs while playing aggressive cricket in just 51.4 overs.
Interestingly, the loss of the first five wickets were at the hands of a young mystery spinner, Abrar Ahmed. The 24-year-old received a maiden call-up from the national side following his terrific stint in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23. The leggie scalped 43 wickets in seven outings at an average of 21.95 as he topped the charts of the leading wicket-taker in the competition.
The Pakistan management immediately took heed of the impressive run in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and backed him to play the series against the Three Lions. The young sensation became the 252nd player from Pakistan to play the red-ball format of the sport. He ended the innings with a sensational seven-wicket haul while conceding 7/114.
Remarkable start to a professional career
Abrar hails from Shinkiari, a small village on the outskirts of Mansehra near Abbottabad. When he was only nine years old, he played tape-ball cricket for about four years before he heard about a cricket trial at Rashid Latif’s academy. The then Pakistan’s U19 coach, Muhammad Masroor was left awestruck by Abrar’s magical deliveries while overseeing the trials.
In 2016, Abrar racked up 53 wickets in Zonal U19 in Karachi and received a massive opportunity to represent the Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Karachi Kings becoming one of the emerging picks. Abrar boasts of scalping 76 wickets in 26 innings in his First-Class cricket. Having earned the national call-up, Pakistan are in good hands with the services of the young sensation.
Abrar picked up a seven-fer in his very first match for the side against a heavyweight team of England. This will surely hand him and the side, a massive boost for the future. Pakistan who are on the cusp of losing their summit clash spot in the ICC World Test Championships due to a loss in the first match are looking for a magical comeback in the second Test. Abrar Ahmed has done just that with his sensational variations coming into play and sending the rival batters packing.
