Who is Arafat Minhas, Pakistan cricket’s rising star all-rounder?
A calm head on young shoulders, Arafat Minhas has swiftly earned the reputation of a match-winner for Pakistan.
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.
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.
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.
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.