Stats Analysis

Stats - Tabish Khan, oldest Test debutant for Pakistan in 66 years

Stats highlights from the fast bowler's 18-year wait for a Test cap

598 - Wickets in first-class cricket for Tabish Khan, the most by any player before a Test debut for an Asian team. The previous highest was 558 wickets by Malinda Pushpakumara before making his Test debut for Sri Lanka in 2017 against India. The 598 first-class wickets by Khan are also the second-most by anyone before their Test debut for a team other than England. Tim Murtagh had 712 first-class wickets before Ireland's Test debut in 2018.
2 - Players older than Khan (36 years and 146 days) on Friday at the time of their maiden Test cap for Pakistan. Miran Bakhsh was 47 years and 284 days old in 1955 while making his Test debut against India, while Amir Elahi made his Pakistan debut at 44 years and 45 days in 1952, five years after his Test debut for India.
0 - Players with 500-plus wickets other than Khan in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the premier first-class tournament of Pakistan. The right-arm fast bowler has 515 scalps to his name across 115 matches he played in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
137 - First-class appearances for Khan before his Test debut against Zimbabwe. Only Khalid Ibadulla, with 218 matches, played more first-class games than Khan before making his Test debut for Pakistan against Australia in 1964.
495 - Wickets by Khan in first-class cricket during a ten-year period between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2018, which he took at an average of 22.09 and a strike rate of 42.90. Only Pushpakumara (616 wickets at 19.43 average and 36.20 strike rate) picked up more wickets in first-class cricket in those ten years at a better average or strike rate than Khan.
3 - First-class matches played by Khan outside of Pakistan before his Test debut in Harare. All those three games that he played for Pakistan A against Sri Lanka A were held in Sri Lanka, where he took four wickets at an average of 81.50. His first-class returns in Pakistan read 594 wickets at 23.91.

Sampath Bandarupalli is a statistician at ESPNcricinfo