Unleashing mystery

Abrar Ahmed talks about his journey from playing tapeball cricket to now in line of making Test debut for Pakistan

Spin bowling remains an art mastered in the subcontinent over the decades where the likes of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka produced some of the best to have ever played the game.

In this part of the world, slow pitches assist bowlers who can trouble batters with a bit of turn and bounce.

Over the years in Pakistan, we have had a number of world-class spinners from Abdul Qadir to Saqlain Mushtaq and from Saeed Ajmal to Yasir Shah.

But surprisingly, none of them was a so-call ‘mystery spinner’ but that is likely to be changed with young Abrar Ahmed being selected in the national squad for the upcoming Test series against England.

The 24-year-old was inducted into the contingent after his outstanding performances in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy — Pakistan’s premier First-Class competition — where he is the leading wicket-taker with 43 scalps to his name at an average of less than 22, with five five-wicket hauls.

Abrar’s success over the years is down to his ability to bowl different deliveries with similar action. On paper, he is a leg-break bowler but he can bowl a googly, carrom bowl and trouble the batters with his various type of other finger deliveries as well.

This is not the first time when the Karachi-born was selected in the squad as he was also a part of the contingent that faced the same opposition in the 20-over format just before the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup in Australia.

After failing to get an opportunity in the shortest format, the former Karachi Kings spinner is now in line to make a debut in the five-day format alongside either Nauman Ali or Zahid Mahmood in Rawalpindi.

Abrar’s journey of reaching the very top resembles that of every player who made it to the highest level from the biggest city in the country.

He started playing cricket with his brothers and slowly mastered the art of mystery spin in tapeball. Many people pushed him to join a cricket academy and in 2016, he enrolled himself in Rashid Latif Cricket Academy in Gulberg.

Due to his exceptional abilities, he played for Zone III and produced eye-catching performances.

“In my first year, I didn’t get much opportunity but in the second year, I bagged 54 wickets in six games,” he recalled while talking to Bol News.

Those numbers were just too good to ignore and therefore, he was promoted to the regional level where he had the chance to work under Masroor Ahmed — a famous name in the world of coaching in Karachi.

He became the best bowler of the one-day tournament and was drafted in the emerging category of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) by Karachi Kings in 2017.

But from there on, things went a bit south for the right-arm spinner. The 2017 edition didn’t go as young Abrar would’ve hoped for where he only played two games for the Kings and finished wicketless.

Despite those disappointing figures, the youngster was admired by then-Kings coach Mickey Arthur who was also the head coach of the national team.

After that, Abrar faced another setback as he suffered a horrific lower-back injury that put him out of action for more than a year.

It took him long working hours and a lot of patience to regain his fitness and form where Arthur assisted him while training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for 40 days.

From there on, the mystery spinner never looked back and kept making strides towards reaching his ultimate goal of representing the national team.

“I came back in 2019 and played in a tournament organised by Karachi Kings named ‘Sindh kay Shehzaday’,” he recalled. “I was named the best bowler in the tournament. That performance was enough for the Kings to sign me again for the 2019 edition in the emerging category but I couldn’t play as Umer Khan was performing well during that time.”

He returned to regular competitive cricket in 2020, playing for Sindh in the National T20 Second XI Cup, picking up three wickets at a strike rate of 16 and with an economy of 6.25.

But it was his performances in red-ball cricket in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Second XI that made everyone notice him where he finished with 57 wickets at an outstanding average of 11.75 and with a strike-rate of just 24.1, by far the best in that division.

In the same season, he was promoted to the Sindh first XI where he finally made his First-Class debut against Southern Punjab at the National Stadium Karachi. He finished with the match figures of 5-199 in 52 overs.

Abrar then returned to PSL where Peshawar Zalmi signed him for the 2021 edition. In the Abu Dhabi leg, he played against his former franchise and bowled well in a must-win game, bagging figures of 3-14.

In the recently concluded National T20 Cup 2022, he played a big role in helping Sindh in winning the title by claiming 10 wickets in eight matches with an economy-rate of just 7.35.

It was those performances that pushed chief selector Mohammad Wasim to select him for the seven-match T20I series against England.

As for Abrar, he is more excited to be a part of the format where he feels he has more to offer to the side.

“The more you bowl, the more you will take wickets in the longer formats,” he said. “I have been bowling longer spells for the last few months. PCB has been calling me at the camps, which has helped me greatly.

“I also was part of the Pakistan Shaheens but didn’t play. I bowled long spells at nets over there too that helped me to bag 18 wickets in two first-class matches.”

However, the 24-year-old remains keen on representing the national team across all formats and producing the goods.

“Every format has its uniqueness,” he said. “I don’t like one particular format. As a cricketer, one has to be ready for every format. I would aim to perform whenever I receive the opportunity for Pakistan.”

Mystery spinners are being around for a while but in Pakistan, Abrar will be the first to represent the national team.

Talking about getting better at the art itself, the Peshawar Zalmi spinner revealed that he is still in a learning phase and looks up to the likes of the Afghanistan duo of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman to learn a few tricks.

“I watched Ajantha Mendis and Sunil Narine growing up,” he said. “I learned a bit from Rashid Khan and Mujeeb as well. I watch their videos on how to use pace and different tactics. I learned a bit from Narine during the PSL where he told me about the importance of the lengths.

“I try to bowl at good lengths. Mystery spinners and normal spinners are different. I bowl different deliveries and try to hold batters back with a surprise delivery which can give me wickets.

“I will try to be someone who is the best in my category. I look at the batters’ weak points and look to bowl deliveries which can get me wickets. I can’t disclose as some things need to stay as a mystery.”

Talking about his objective in the upcoming Test series which will be the first time when England will play in a five-day format on Pakistan soil in nearly two decades, Abrar named the two wickets that he would be eager to take.

“My target is to take five to six wickets every time I go out to bowl but wickets of Joe Root and Ben Stokes will be the ones I will cherish the most,” he concluded.