Left-arm spinner Asif Afridi made his Test debut for Pakistan in the second red-ball match against South Africa at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, becoming the third oldest player to debut in Tests for Pakistan.
The 38-year-and-299-day-old cricketer from Peshawar has featured in 57 first-class matches, taking 198 wickets — including 13 five-wicket hauls in 95 innings. He received his maiden Test cap from star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, News.Az reports, citing Indian media.
Asif replaced Hasan Ali in Pakistan’s playing XI for the second game of the home series against the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) winners.
With his debut, Asif Afridi joins a rare list of late bloomers in Pakistan’s cricket history. The oldest debutant remains Miran Bakhsh, who played his first Test at 47 years and 284 days against India in Lahore in 1955. The second oldest is Amir Elahi, who debuted for Pakistan at 44 years and 45 days in 1952 — five years after representing India in a Test match against Australia
News.Az
