Yasir Arafat (cricketer) explained

Yasir Arafat (cricketer) should not be confused with Yasir Arafat (cricketer, born 1984).

Yasir Arafat Satti (born 12 March 1982) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer, an all-rounder who batted right-handed and bowled right-arm fast.

Cricket career

International career

Having previously represented his country at the under-15 level, Arafat made his ODI debut for Pakistan in 2000 when he was 17 years old against Sri Lanka in Karachi and took his first wicket in this match. He played just one more match the following year before being dropped. He was given a second chance at international cricket in the last ODI against England in December 2005 and was retained for the series against India in February 2006, but was left out of the ODI squad for the subsequent tour in England. His next chance at international cricket came in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy when he was one of the players called up to the Pakistan squad for the Champions Trophy to replace Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif who had both failed drug tests.^[2]

In March 2007, he and Mohammad Sami were called up as replacements in Pakistan's squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup after Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were ruled out through injury.^[3]

On 8 December 2007, Arafat made his Test match debut for Pakistan against India in Bangalore in the third and final Test of the series. He displayed his all-round abilities by taking 7 wickets in the match including a 5-wicket haul, and scoring 44 in the first innings.^[4]

He was part of Pakistan squad for 2009 ICC World Twenty20 but was later replaced due to hamstring injury.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Domestic and T20 franchise career

In English domestic cricket, he was signed as an overseas player for Scotland as a replacement for Rahul Dravid, and played for them in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He was signed as an overseas player for Sussex for the 2006 season to line up alongside fellow countrymen Mushtaq Ahmed and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, and helped the team to win the double of the County Championship and the C&G Trophy as well as mount a serious challenge in the Pro40 League. He was signed up to play for Kent in the 2007 season.

In 2004, Arafat performed the extremely rare feat of taking five wickets in six balls for Rawalpindi against the national champions Faisalabad in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. This had only been achieved three times previously in the entire history of first-class cricket: by Bill Copson in 1937, William Henderson in 1938 and Pat Pocock in 1972. Arafat was the only bowler to take the wickets spread over two innings.^[8]

In August 2008, it was reported that he was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders to play in the second season of the Indian Premier League tournament but the deal wasn't finalized due to tense atmosphere between India Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]}

Following the 2008 season, Arafat signed once more for Sussex as their overseas player for 2009,^[14] signing to return again for another season in 2010.^[15] In 2011 he signed for Surrey County Cricket Club. He joined Lancashire as an overseas player for the 2012 Friends Life t20.^[16]

In November 2011, he was signed by Canterbury to play in the 2011–12 HRV Cup.^[17]

Arafat was signed to play in Big Bash League franchise Perth Scorchers in December 2013.^[18] In 2016, he was signed by Somerset from Hampshire on a season-long loan deal as a non-overseas player.^{[19] [20]}

Coaching career

Moving to England after his retirement, where he took permanent residence, he coached teams at junior level while in 2023 he became the first former Test cricketer from Pakistan to complete the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) level 4 coaching course.^[21]

He coached Surrey CCC as a bowling consultant in 2011 and later in 2022.^[22]

On 25 December 2023 Pakistan cricket board appointed Arafat as the Pakistan men team high performance coach for new Zealand t20 series

See also

• List of Pakistan cricketers who have taken five-wicket hauls on Test debut

Notes and References

1. Web site: Yasir Arafat's profile on CREX.
2. Web site: Asif and Akhtar to return home. 31 December 2012. ESPNcricinfo.
3. Web site: Shoaib and Asif out of the World Cup. 31 December 2012. ESPNcricinfo.
4. Web site: 3rd Test: India v Pakistan at Bangalore, 8–12 December 2012. 31 December 2012. ESPNcricinfo.
5. Web site: Former ICL player Razzaq to join Pakistan World T20 squad Cricket News. 2022-01-03. NDTVSports.com. en.
6. 11 June 2009 . ICC approves Razzaq as Arafat's replacement . 2022-01-03 . India Today . en.
7. News: 2009-06-10. Pakistan turn to Abdul Razzaq after injury to Yasir Arafat. 2022-01-03. The Guardian. en.
8. Web site: Yasir Arafat equals world record. 31 December 2012. ESPNcricinfo.
9. Web site: 2008-08-04. Yasir Arafat joins KKR. 2022-01-03. Dawn. Pakistan. en.
10. Web site: Arafat joins Kolkata Knight Riders. 2022-01-03. ESPNcricinfo. en.
11. Web site: No Pakistan players in IPL 2009. 2022-01-03. Cricbuzz. 2 February 2009 . en.
12. Web site: No Pakistani players in IPL 2009? Cricket News. 2022-01-03. NDTVSports.com. en.
13. Web site: 2009-02-02. Cricket: Pakistan pulls its 11 players out of the IPL because of security fears. 2022-01-03. The Guardian. en.
14. Web site: Paceman Arafat returns to Sussex. 29 October 2008. BBC Sport. 2008-10-29.
15. Web site: Yasir Arafat To Remain With Sussex in 2010. 21 October 2009. Cricket World. 2009-10-21.
16. Web site: Lancashire sign all-rounder Yasir Arafat for T20 competition . . 2 May 2012 . 2012-05-02.
17. Web site: Canterbury sign Yasir Arafat for HRV Cup. 2022-01-10. ESPNcricinfo. en.
18. Web site: Perth Scorchers sign on Yasir Arafat. 24 December 2013. ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Inc.. 10 January 2014.
19. News: Somerset: All-rounder Yasir Arafat re-signs on loan from Hampshire. BBC Sport.
20. Web site: Somerset sign Yasir Arafat on loan from Hampshire for 2016 season.
21. Web site: 18 January 2023 . Yasir Arafat achieves a milestone . Geo Super.
22. Web site: Friend . Nick . 27 July 2022 . Yasir Arafat joins Surrey as bowling coach for Royal London Cup . The Cricketer.