The separation that united Yasir with the greats

Leg-spinner talks about his arduous journey from Swabi to Lord’s

KARACHI: Yasir Shah has reached the summit of the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings in no time. The journey may seem an easy sail for the uninitiated, but it is a remarkable one; given that the leg-spinner had to endure separation from home and family for eight years.

Once persistently called ‘parchi’ by one of the most famous sports anchors of Pakistan, Yasir’s numbers speak volumes; his tally of 86 wickets is the best ever in cricket’s history after 13 Tests as he continues to blow away record after record.

Next in line is a 120-year-old record of fastest to 100 Test wickets, a record currently held by England’s George Lohmann, who reached the milestone in 16 Tests.

Yasir has already gone one better than his ideal Shane Warne, who never managed to get his name on Lord’s honour board. Warne took eight wickets in his first Test against England in England with four apiece in each innings, while Yasir bagged a 10-for with six and four in the first and second innings respectively.



The boy from Swabi had no facilities to hone his talent and spent life like a journeyman to become what he is today. He sacrificed the luxury of being with his family in Swabi, wandering between Peshawar and Karachi in his quest to make a name for himself.

“When I was growing up, there were no facilities for sportsmen in Swabi, so to pursue my dream of becoming a professional cricketer, I had to move to Peshawar,” Yasir told The Express Tribune.

“I had to stay away from my home and family for eight years to be close to cricket. I played in Peshawar from 2000 to 2004 and then in Karachi from 2004 to 2008, where I lived in Surjani Town with a friend. I played inter-firms and departmental tournaments for Deewan Motors for a period of three years, and then spent a year with Pakistan Customs.”



When his father became his fan

Cricket was the chubby leggie’s first love and he would often get scolded by his father for missing his prayers while busy playing matches with his elder brothers and cousins.

His talent was spotted when he was taken to a tape-ball match by his brothers, who did not have the 11 players needed for an important exhibition match. He was chosen as a desperate resort to fill the team, but Yasir went on to pick seven wickets with his leg-spin.

“I was applauded by everyone for my performance,” recalls Yasir. “While I was collecting my man-of-the-match award, my father burst in and slapped me in front of everyone [for missing my Asar prayers]. I dropped the trophy and tried to escape as my father chased me. Then my cousins and a few neighbours convinced him that I possessed something special and urged him to see me bowl once.”

His father then went to watch him in a match, and just like the entire nation would be all those years later, became the youngster’s fan. “I don’t remember him missing any of my local matches from there on in,” said Yasir. “He told me to focus on cricket, stressing that he and my brothers will look after the family business.”

The 30-year-old said that despite wandering around the country in the quest of realising his dream, he managed to complete his graduation from the Government College of Swabi.

Yasir credits his meteoric rise from unknown Swabi to Matiullah — his cousin in England — for sending videos of Warne which worked as tutorials for him, and Amir Nawab — former President of Abbottabad Cricket Region and Yasir’s neighbour — for supporting him throughout and often scolding him for slacking in training.



The big break

But like many others, Yasir found it difficult to break onto the international stage. The leg-spinner played a few side matches for Pakistan but never made it into the national team, and there was a time when he started questioning himself.

He debuted for Pakistan in limited-over formats in 2011 against Zimbabwe, but was unable to impress. And for the next few years, he was forgotten by the nation.

Then in 2014, still an unknown, the spinner was called up as a possible option for the 2014 series against Australia.

“I was playing a league match in the UAE when I got a call from the PCB to report in Lahore as I was being considered to play against Australia,” says Yasir. “Then I received a call from head coach Waqar Younis as well. I was literally shivering at that moment, but my teammates in the UAE calmed me down.”

As soon as he reached Lahore, Yasir started working tirelessly on perfecting his bowling. “Mushtaq Ahmad worked diligently to make my action repetitive and later helped me in developing my googly,” said Yasir. “I had a nervous start to Test cricket, as I had to bowl to David Warner, who hit me for a few runs. But when the day ended, Waqar and Mushtaq told me that I was bowling well. From that day onwards, I told myself to bowl to my strengths.”

The Lord’s hero added that he is trying not to think too far ahead in terms of the records he could break.

“It’s good to be breaking records, but to be honest I don’t think about them too much,” said Yasir. “All I focus on is doing well match by match. If I perform in every innings or every match — which is a hard task — things will fall into place for me. For now, I want to help Pakistan make a mark on this important tour.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2016.

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