Yasir Shah, the man who is a look-alike of Lionel Messi, is on top of the world. Officially.
The Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir has knocked England’s James Anderson off the top of the International Cricket Council Test rankings in the aftermath of his match-winning heroics at Lord’s.
It has been a whirlwind 2016 for the stocky, chubbier version of Messi. The man who was banned for three months by ICC for mistaking his wife’s blood pressure medicine for his own, came back to cricket with a bang as he bowled Pakistan to a famous win at Lord’s in the first Test against England.
Yasir’s maiden 10-wicket haul helped Pakistan secure a 75-run win.
And here are some records he broke on the way:
- The first Pakistani to be World No. 1 Test bowler since his fellow leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed 20 years ago. The 30-year-old climbs from number four to the top of the ICC bowlers’ rankings following his 10 for 141 figures against England, which included Sunday’s second-innings figures of four for 69.
- Yasir Shah took 10 wickets in a Test for the first time in his career
- In just 13 matches, he has taken 86 wickets at an average of just 23 apiece. If he gets to 100 Test wickets in his 15th Test he would have broken a 120-year old Test record. George Lohmann, the England bowler, had reached the mark in 16 matches in 1896.
- He is the first spinner to take 10 wickets in a Lord’s Test since England’s Derek Underwood in 1974 and just the sixth in all.
- Yasir Shah’s name is on the Lord’s honours board now, something not even Shane Warne managed in his career!
Will he carry on his form and get to the world record? Go on, Messi 2.0!
With AFP inputs (Featured image: Reuters)