Pakistan’s Razaullah had no passport when picked for England Test

Two weeks ago, few outside Pakistan’s domestic cricket circles had heard of Razaullah. On Wednesday, the 21-year-old fast bowler from Mardan walked out at Edgbaston and, with just his fourth delivery in Test cricket, dismissed one of England’s greatest batters.

But the most remarkable part of his story came before he even reached England.

According to reports on social media, Razaullah did not even have a passport when Pakistan selected him for the third Test against England.

The youngster was at his village when the selectors tried to contact him, but his phone was switched off, leaving the team with no way of reaching their latest call-up.

With time running out, a coach was reportedly sent to his village to track him down and deliver the extraordinary news: Razaullah was going to England. What followed was a frantic race against time.

An urgent passport was arranged, his English visa was stamped and the youngster was put on a flight to join the Pakistan squad.

But there was little time to settle in. Razaullah was not brought to England merely as a squad member – he was thrown straight into the playing XI at Edgbaston.

And he needed only four balls to announce himself. Razaullah charged in, hit the right areas with genuine pace and trapped England captain Joe Root in front to claim a dream wicket on his Test debut.

The right-armer touched 92mph in his opening two overs and did not dip below 89mph. His control understandably wavered as the day progressed, particularly after Pakistan were bowled out for just 133. But Razaullah returned late in the day to claim another wicket, bowling England opener Emilio Gay after the batter had appeared well set during his half-century.

England ended the first day on 156-4, 23 runs ahead, meaning Razaullah’s two wickets could not change the immediate course of the Test.

But for Pakistan, his emergence offered something far more valuable: a glimpse of a young fast bowler with pace, aggression and the confidence to take on established international batters.

Razaullah’s journey to Test cricket has been astonishingly quick.

He only made his first appearance in big-time cricket last November, when he debuted for Peshawar in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier domestic first-class competition.

Before that, his cricketing journey had begun with the Mardan district side. He was spotted by Peshawar Region coach Abdul Rehman during an unofficial tournament in Quetta.

According to Dawn, PCB high-performance director Aaqib Javed was impressed after watching Razaullah train at the National Cricket Academy.

That led to his inclusion in a PCB fast-bowling camp in late August, where he was among 12 pacers invited to work with the national set-up.

Razaullah’s extraordinary opportunity came amid one of the most dramatic periods in Pakistan cricket.

Following heavy defeats in the opening two Tests – an innings-and-103-run loss at Headingley and a 194-run defeat at Lord’s – the Pakistan Cricket Board overhauled the team. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed and seven players were sent home.

Razaullah was among the replacements, with five uncapped players drafted into the squad.