The 21-year-old opener dream debut, filling a legend’s shoes, and the journey from Karachi’s UBL Academy to Test cricket, scored fifties in both innings on debut against Bangladesh and now has his sights set on West Indies and England.
Asher Butt
The call came unexpectedly. Abdullah Fazal, a 21-year-old opener from Karachi, had just helped Karachi Blues win the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final. He was riding the high of a first-class century. But nothing could have prepared him for what came next: a Test cap for Pakistan. And not just any Test cap—one that came in place of Babar Azam, Pakistan’s modern-day batting king.
“I cannot replace him because he is such a massive star and our pride,” Abdullah says, sitting in an interview studio. “I just got an opportunity to play in his place for that match, so my effort was to try and fill that spot well by performing similarly to how he does.”
Fill it he did. On debut against Bangladesh, Abdullah scored fifties in both innings—a composed 61 and a fighting 52. He became the 261st Test player of Pakistan, and at 21 years old, he announced himself as a name to watch for the future.
The debut: Nervousness, pride, and a dream come true
Abdullah’s journey to the Test cap was not a straight line. He started playing cricket at the age of 13 at the UBL Cricket Academy in Karachi. He played Under-19 cricket, then Grade-II—a phase he admits “didn’t go very well.” The gap that followed brought difficulties. But he kept working, kept practicing, and kept believing.
When the debut finally arrived, the nervousness was real.
“Of course, there was a bit of nervousness initially when I was going to score for the first time,” he recalls. “But after that, it went well and felt good. Then the nervousness disappeared.”
His first fifty brought an overwhelming sense of pride.
“I felt very proud since I scored for my country. It felt great, and it was a massive dream of mine to play a good innings on my debut, and that dream beautifully came true.”
The weight of replacing a legend
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Abdullah’s debut was the context. He was not walking into a settled lineup. He was walking into the shoes of Babar Azam—Pakistan’s captain, its best batter, its talisman.
The team management gave him confidence. They told him to play his natural game. But the weight of the moment was undeniable.
“Obviously, I cannot replace him because he is such a massive star and our pride,” Abdullah says with humility. “I just got an opportunity to play in his place for that match, so my effort was to try and fill that spot well by performing similarly to how he does.”
That mindset—focusing on performance rather than comparison—allowed him to flourish. He did not try to be Babar. He tried to be the best version of Abdullah Fazal.
The first ball: Believing in the process
Every debutant remembers their first ball. The bowler charges in. The crowd watches. The mind races. Abdullah’s memory of that moment is clear.
“I just went in with the mindset to believe in myself and do exactly what I had been doing for the past six months,” he says. “I didn’t want to try anything new. Allah made things go wonderfully, and it was the result of the hard work I had put in.”
That refusal to innovate under pressure is a hallmark of mature batting. Abdullah trusted his preparation. And preparation, he believes, is what separates success from failure.
“My effort is always to handle the pressure well whenever it comes, and I have prepared extensively for such situations. When such a situation arises, Allah helps me through it.”
The partnership with Azan Awais: Two debutants, one mission
Adding to the drama of Abdullah’s debut was the identity of his batting partner. Azan Awais, another young opener, was also making his Test debut. Two debutants at the crease together—no senior player to guide them, no experienced head to lean on.
“We’ve had a very good bonding from before as well,” Abdullah explains. “While batting, we both were continuously talking to each other so that we wouldn’t feel whatever pressure was building on us in between.”
The partnership that followed was not just about runs. It was about two young men refusing to be overwhelmed by the occasion. They communicated. They encouraged. They built.
“Building the innings was challenging for both of us,” Abdullah admits. “But when we played and got a good start, it gave us immense confidence.”
The red-ball camp: Fine-tuning for West Indies and England
Since his debut, Abdullah has been part of the Red-Ball camp at the National Cricket Academy. The focus, he says, has been on physical fitness and technical refinement.
“It has only been two or three days since we arrived,” he notes. “A lot of good work is being done on physical fitness. We start in the morning, then we get some rest during the afternoon, and after a break, we resume our training.”
The camp is designed to prepare Pakistan’s Test squad for the upcoming series against West Indies and England—two challenging assignments that will test the team’s progress.
“The effort is to completely rectify the mistakes we made in the previous series,” Abdullah says. “We also have some practice matches coming up to prepare well so that we are ready before we go.”
The hero: Following Alastair Cook
Every young batter has an idol. For Abdullah, it is not a Pakistani legend but an English one: Alastair Cook.
“I follow Alastair Cook a lot,” he reveals. “I try to adopt the greatness he possessed in his approach and compare myself to the performances he delivered throughout his career.”
Cook’s career was defined by patience, resilience, and an insatiable appetite for runs—qualities that Abdullah is trying to build into his own game.
The PSL experience: Learning from international stars
Abdullah’s PSL journey began this season when Rawalpindi selected him. The experience of sharing a dressing room with international stars like Sam Billings and Daryl Mitchell was transformative.
“They play in leagues all over the world, so they helped a lot in practice areas, training, and sharing the dugout with them felt great,” he says. “When you share the dressing room with these people for the first time, your effort is always to learn as much as possible from them.”
Message to young cricketers: Follow your process
Abdullah’s advice to aspiring cricketers is simple but profound.
“Keep following their process. Never stop working hard. Ups and downs keep coming. So try to work even harder during the low phases of your life and master your skills as much as possible.”
