Sports

Arafat Minhas Leads Pakistan to ODI Victory with Sixes and Six Wickets

By Faisal Mohammad

Arafat Minhas, 21, proved to be a match‑winner for Pakistan in the final of the One‑Day International tri‑nation series against Sri Lanka. With Pakistan five wickets down and 125 required off 79 balls, Minhas entered the crease at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. He partnered Hasan Nawaz and, after a brief period of calm, accelerated the chase. When Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka delivered a ball that angled into Minhas, the 21‑year‑old swung it over mid‑wicket for a six, sparking the crowd. He went on to hit four more sixes, finishing with 61 runs off 31 balls, and helped Pakistan win the trophy. Minhas was named player of the series after ending the series with nine wickets and 149 runs, including two half‑centuries.

Earlier in the series, Minhas delivered one of the finest bowling performances of his fledgling international career. In Rawalpindi on 10 October, after scoring 59 off 58 balls to help Pakistan recover from 81‑4 and post 302‑9, he took six wickets for 40 runs as England were bowled out for 215, giving Pakistan an 87‑run win. His dismissal of Harry Brook for five was highlighted by Brook, who remarked, “Is he under 21? I didn’t know.” The performance made Minhas 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.

Minhas made his ODI debut against Australia in May, taking 5‑32 and becoming the first Pakistani to claim a five‑wicket haul on debut. He later said he prefers not to label players as batting or bowling all‑rounders, describing himself as a “complete all‑rounder.”

Minhas’s journey began when his father, Kashif, who had represented Multan in under‑19 cricket, switched him from fast bowling to left‑arm spin at the age of eight. Kashif later built a rooftop practice facility in Multan during the COVID‑19 lockdown to keep his sons’ training uninterrupted. Minhas progressed through Pakistan’s age‑group system, becoming the country’s best under‑16 player before joining the under‑19 team. He played a key role in Pakistan’s run to the semifinals of the 2024 ICC Under‑19 World Cup.

Minhas’s younger brother, Sameer, is a right‑handed opening batter who was named in Pakistan’s Test squad for the November series against Sri Lanka. Sameer scored 405 runs in seven first‑class matches during his debut season. Their youngest brother, Abdullah, is also pursuing cricket as a left‑handed batter and leg‑spinner.

Kashif hopes all three sons will play together for Pakistan and win an international trophy, a dream that would complete the cricketing journey he had to abandon. He said, “My ultimate dream is to see all three of my sons play together in the Pakistan playing XI and bring home an ICC trophy for Pakistan. That’s the day my dream will be complete, and that void will truly be filled.”