At five wickets down with 125 required off 79 balls, Pakistan were teetering on the edge of yet another batting collapse when Arafat Minhas walked in to bat in the final of the One-Day International (ODI) tri-nation cricket series against Sri Lanka.
asserted
Minhas → require → Lanka
An expectant home crowd in Lahore was on tenterhooks as the 21-year-old all-rounder began his batting partnership with Hasan Nawaz under the floodlights of the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.
asserted
rounder → begin → Saturday
Minhas, who had gone wicketless in Sri Lanka’s innings, showed few signs of the pressure mounting on the young batting pair and began the repair job.
asserted
who → go → job
Within a few overs, the run chase swayed back in Pakistan’s favour but the final remained tense.
asserted
final → sway → favour
With the hosts needing 39 runs from 27 balls, Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka bowled a delivery at length, angling the ball into Minhas.
asserted
Shanaka → need → Minhas
Unnerved by the occasion and his own lack of experience, the batter swung his bat across the line and sent the ball soaring over midwicket for six to ignite the crowd and rekindle lost hope.
asserted
ball → swing → hope
Following this defining moment of his innings, Arafat coolly went on to hit four more sixes, finish with 61 runs off 31 balls, help Pakistan clinch the trophy and bag himself the player of the series award.
asserted
Pakistan → follow → award
He ended the series with nine wickets and 149 runs, including two half-centuries.
asserted
He → end → centuries
Commentators on the host broadcast ran out of superlatives for the promising all-rounder, who admitted that he “enjoyed the pressure” of the final run-chase and tried to remain calm.
asserted
he → run → chase
“The team needed someone to believe that we could achieve the target.”
uncertain
we → need → target
Before shining with the bat in the final, Arafat produced one of the finest bowling performances of his fledgling international career against England in Rawalpindi on October 10.
asserted
Arafat → shin → October
After scoring 59 off 58 balls to help Pakistan recover from 81-4 and post 302-9, Minhas took six wickets for 40 runs as England were bowled out for 215, handing Pakistan an 87-run win.
asserted
England → score → win
England were at 91 without losing a wicket before Arafat dismantled their batting order.
asserted
Arafat → lose → order
Among his victims was swashbuckling batter Harry Brook, who was bowled for five by a delivery that turned past his attempted defensive shot and hit the stumps.
asserted
that → swashbuckle → stumps
The England captain was left stunned at the crease and in the post-match media talk.
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captain → leave → talk
I didn’t know,” Brook said after the match.
asserted
Brook → know → match
More plaudits poured in as Minhas showed his all-round skills on the field.
“A half-century, six wickets and a run out.
asserted
Minhas → pour → field
Mike Hesson wants all-round cricketers and he’s found one in Arafat Minhas,” former England captain Nasser Hussain said during the broadcast.
asserted
Hussain → want → broadcast
The performance made him the third Pakistani to score a half-century and take at least five wickets in a men’s ODI after Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq.
asserted
him → make → Afridi
On his ODI debut against Australia in May, Arafat took 5-32, becoming the first Pakistani to claim a five-wicket haul on debut, as well as winning the player of the series award.
uncertain
Arafat → take → award
“I prefer not to label players as batting or bowling all-rounders,” Minhas later said in an interview with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
asserted
Minhas → prefer → Board
“I’d rather be seen as a complete all-rounder.”
asserted
I → see → rounder
An early foundation
Thirteen years earlier, Minhas dreamed of becoming a fast bowler like every other aspiring Pakistani cricketer.
asserted
Minhas → dream → cricketer
But the then-eight-year-old was handed a leather cricket ball and instructed to take up left-arm spin by his father, Kashif, who spent years helping Arafat develop the all-round skills that are now helping Pakistan win matches.
asserted
Pakistan → hand → matches
Kashif had represented his hometown team, Multan, in under-19 cricket but was forced to give up on his dream – “with a heavy heart” – by his father, who urged him to take over the family’s car showroom business.
asserted
who → represent → business
Years later, watching his sons play with toy eggs and plastic balls, Kashif saw a spark.
asserted
Kashif → watch → spark
“When I observed them, I saw their playing style wasn’t ordinary; it seemed like a natural gift and a blessing from God,” Kashif told Al Jazeera.
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Kashif → observe → Jazeera
“I thought: ‘why not train them for professional cricket’?”
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I → think → cricket
He would go on to buy full kits for his sons, setting them on the path towards professional cricket.
asserted
He → go → cricket
“My father handed me a hard ball when I was about eight or nine and I’ve bowled left-arm spin ever since [but] In tape-ball cricket, I used to bowl fast,” Minhas explained when asked about his control on his bowling variations.
asserted
Minhas → hand → variations
Minhas rapidly progressed through Pakistan’s age-group system, becoming the country’s best under-16 player in his final year before breaking into the under-19 team.
asserted
Minhas → progress → team
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown threatened to interrupt his sons’ development, Kashif built a cricket practice facility on the rooftop of his house in Multan.
asserted
Kashif → threaten → Multan
A net, a mat pitch and floodlights were installed to ensure that “practice wouldn’t stop”.
asserted
practice → instal → ?
In 2024, when Pakistan reached the semifinals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup and lost to Australia by one wicket, Minhas played a key role in the team’s progress in the tournament.
Given his standout performances, the young all-rounder’s elevation to the senior team seemed inevitable.
asserted
elevation → reach → team
Brothers living a father’s dream
Minhas’s younger brother, Sameer, is a prodigious right-handed opening batter who has also made significant progress.
asserted
who → live → progress
Last week, he was included in Pakistan’s Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka in November.
asserted
he → include → November
Playing his first season of first-class cricket, Sameer scored 405 runs in seven matches, following his own promising spell with Pakistan’s under-19 team.
asserted
Sameer → play → team
Their youngest brother, Abdullah, is also pursuing cricket as a left-handed batter and leg-spinner.
asserted
brother → pursue → batter
“To move forward, I’ll improve and put in whatever extra work is required,” Minhas said after the England match.
asserted
Minhas → move → match
Kashif’s ambition extends beyond one son’s career.
asserted
ambition → extend → career
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
