Who Is Kamran Ghulam? A Ravindra Jadeja Fan Who Made Test Debut By Replacing Babar Azam

Kamran Ghulam made his Test debut on Tuesday in the second Test between Pakistan and England being played in Multan. (Day 1 Blog | Scorecard | Cricket News)

The 29-year-old was drafted into the Pakistan XI in a difficult time with the team having not won a Test match at home in last 11 attempts. In fact, Ghulam replaced Babar Azam who despite being out of form, remains arguably Pakistan's best batter in recent times. As if all this pressure was not enough, Pakistan made sure nothing would come easy for Ghulam. The right-hander had to come to the crease within 10 overs as Pakistan lost two early wickets.

Ghulam managed to set all that pressure aside and hit a six early on in his innings to settle down the nerves. Here is a brief profile of the debutant Kamran Ghulam.

Born in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kamran Ghulam just celebrated his 29th birthday a few days back, to be precise on October 10. He played tape ball cricket when he was young before upgrading to the leather ball. Prominently a batter, Ghulam could also roll his arms as a left-arm spinner. The all-round nature of his skills made him a valuable fit for cricket sides and he made his domestic debut at just 17.

He also represented Pakistan's Under-19 team in the U19 World Cup 2014 where Pakistan finished second after losing to South Africa in the final.

Ghulam had to wait for a long time before he finally made his international debut last year. His international debut came against New Zealand in an ODI where he neither bowled nor batted.

He had been lurking around the Test scene since the retirement of Azhar Ali but was not getting a chance in the side. The moment finally came when Pakistan decided to 'rest' Babar Azam after the embarassing defeat in the first Test against England earlier this month.

Ghulam took Azam's place in the batting line-up and raised a fifty on Test debut.

His first class numbers paint a pretty picture where he averages over 49 with the bat. While his first class bowling numbers are average, the left-arm spinner's List A performance with both bat and ball are impressive.

He follows star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and wants to replicate his performance.