Who is Abdul Qadir, never heard of him: Meet Abrar Ahmed, Pakistan’s new mystery spinner

What a ball to get the first test yeast!

Abrar Ahmed’s immediate impact #PAKvENG | #UKSePK pic.twitter.com/8tvnuGFzyo

Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 9, 2022

The reply sent Mushtaq Ahmed out and if Abrar’s brother Sajid is to be believed, the former Pakistan leg-spinner couldn’t stop laughing for 10 minutes.

“Everyone started laughing and Mushtaq bhai told him, ‘You have registered yourself as a foot-cyclist and you will never know the greatest we have made,'” says Sajid Ahmed. Indian Express from Karachi.

“When he told us this story, we started laughing too. Bachpan se itni deewangi cricket ko le kar aur itne Bade Legend ko Nahi jaanta (He was so passionate about cricket since childhood but had no idea about such a legend), adds Sajid.

Abrar’s coach Muhammad Masroor defended his ward. “Not his fault; he has idolized Sunil Narine all his life. You can’t blame him for not knowing the great Abdul Qadir,” Masroor said.

Abrar, Pakistan’s latest spin sensation to debut against English in the Multan Test, hails from Shinkiar, a small village on the outskirts of Mansehra near Abbottabad. But his father moved to Karachi in 1977, where he grew up playing ribbon ball cricket.

Cricket came very naturally to Abrar; his father Noor Ahmed was a big fan of the Pakistan team and another elder brother Shahzad Khan, a fast bowler, represented the national bank in the domestic league.

“I still remember it was the Multan Test, where Virender Sehwag smashed that three hundred and he attacked Saqlain Mushtaq the most. Abrar was about six years old and used to point out mistakes in Saqlain bhais bowling. My father got so angry with her running comments that he locked her in another room,” laughs Sajid.

The youngest of eight siblings (five brothers and three sisters), Abrar was closer to his mother. When he turned nine, Abrar’s mother asked him to do hifz (memorizing the Qur’an). Cricket took a back seat for the next two years.

“He was the brightest among us. My mother wanted him to pursue aalima (studying Islamic sciences). And for the first time he said no to his mother. He said, ‘I want to play cricket, I’m not interested in becoming an aalim,'” Sajid recalls.

Fingers like iron bars

For the next four years, Abrar played ribbon ball cricket. One day while returning home, he heard about a cricket trial at Rashid Latif’s academy.

Muhammad Masroor, who was Pakistan’s U-19 coach, oversaw the trials and was amazed by his variations.

Abrar Ahmed after receiving the Test cap. (PCB)

“Sama grippi se carrom ball, leg spin, googly, slider island variations daal raha tha (He bowled all the variations with the same take). He doesn’t have that much turn. He bowled on the heels and nobody could read his length.

“I immediately asked him if he had ever played with a hard ball. The answer was ‘no. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Out of curiosity, I checked his fingers and they were like iron pits,” says Masroor.

In 2016, Abrar took 53 wickets in the U-19 zone in Karachi. Masroor, then a fielding coach at Pakistan Super League’s Karachi Kings, sent his video to Rashid Latif, the franchise’s director of cricket. In 2017, Abrari became one of Karachi’s rising picks in the PSL.

“He played only two games and was shy but impressed everyone with his brilliant spell against Peshawar Zalmi. Eoin Morgan hit a 57-ball 80 and against him Abrar bowled 16 balls and conceded just 17 runs, including seven scores. I remember the coach Mickey Arthur, Captain Kumar SangakkaraKieron Pollard, Chris Gayleeveryone was so impressed,” says Masroor.

He could have been paralyzed

After the peaks came a setback. After the PSL, Abrar suffered a stage five stress fracture and was out of action for two years.

“He could have been paralysed. It was serious. I remember the doctor telling our elder brother and me that he might never be able to play cricket again,” recalls Sajid.

Masroor explains the cause of the injury. “He started playing competitive cricket at the age of 17. In two years he was playing cricket non-stop. He bowled tirelessly in the nets. The body could not withstand the taxes. As a coach, I could not manage his workload,” says Masroor.

Abrar Ahmed spoke to former Karachi Kings fielding coach Muhammad Masroor and Director of Cricket Rashid Latif. (Special arrangement)

Noor Ahmed encouraged her bedridden son. Pathan ka bachcha hai tu, Haar Nahi maan sakta (You are a pathan’s son, you can’t give up). He told her about his early struggles in Karachi, how he drove a taxi for 20 hours a day to make ends meet. It gave him motivation and rekindled his passion for the game,” says Sajid.

Abrar made a comeback in early 2020 for Sindh’s second XI. In the Quaid-e-Azam Second XI that year, Abrar took 57 wickets at 11.75.

“He was back. The next year he was promoted to the senior team,” says Masroor.

Pressure the bowl off the rotation

However, after making a remarkable recovery, he was labeled as a limited overs bowler; Masroor received calls and texts from former Pakistan cricketers asking why he didn’t work on Abrar’s off-spin.

“Main hamesha Jasprit Bumrah ki misaal deta hun, agar wo ladka Pakistan mey hota toh ye humare former cricketers uske peeche pad jaate, Uski action ke wajah se (I always take the example of Jasprit Bumrah, if he was in Pakistan, in our former cricketers would have been after him because of his bowling).

“There are many examples. Anwar Ali is the latest that comes to my mind. At the NCA (National Cricket Academy) they changed his action and he lost his swing. He was never the same bowler. In the 1980s there was a fast bowler, Atiq-ur -Rehman, he was faster than even Imran Khan. His bowling was very similar to that of Jeff Thomson. He attended the first Pakistan camp where Fazal Mahmood converted; he lost his pace and never played for Pakistan.

“In Pakistan, most former cricketers do not know the ABCs of cricket coaching; they just want young people to admire them. You ask any legend here if they have any idea what muscle memory is.

“Arshad Khan (former Pakistan off-spinner) called me and told me to adjust Abrar’s action so he can play off-spin. Tell me one thing, is there any point in changing someone’s action when he is 22? I said no to Arshad. Abrar couldn’t execute his googlies for left handed batsmen, I said I will work on his googly which is natural to him and not force anything on him which he has never done in his life,” says Masroor.

“They called him a T20 specialist in Pakistan. No PSL team picked that kid in 2021. Then before the T20 World Cup, he was picked for a seven-match T20I series against England, but he didn’t get a single game to showcase his skills,” he adds.

Undaunted, Abrar set the 2022-23 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on fire, taking 43 wickets at an average of 21.95. The second best was a distant 31. Abrar made five five-wicket hauls in seven matches to earn a Test call-up against England.

Doesn’t depend on the field

History has never been kind to mystery bikers. Ajantha Mendis was found. Narine, Abrar’s idol, never excelled in the red ball. But Masroor thinks his stand is Lambi race ka ghoda (one for the long haul).

“To be honest, I don’t think he will be cleared. Mujeeb (Afghanistan spinner) has also played for so many years and he is still a threat. Abrar has all the cards to play for at least 10 years in international cricket. He is not dependent on the field. Against him it’s not easy to play sweep shots. On a docile pitch he can make things happen,” says Masroor.

“The decisive thing is how he carries himself and how he approaches the situation when things are difficult. But PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) also needs to handle him with caution. My only advice is don’t wear him down too much. He can be Pakistan’s dark horse in the coming days,” says Masroor.

Regardless of the wicket, the story of a strip-ball street bowler whose career was nearly ended by injury and who has now become one of Pakistan’s best spinners is worthy of a book, a Netflix documentary or even a feature film.