It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Pakistan cricket and their young pacer Razaullah. The Test debacle in England, with two successive defeats, called for a major mid-series squad reshuffle late last month by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul, too, were on their way out.

Seven players were shown the door following the Lord’s Test defeat. Among the replacements was the 21-year-old Razaullah. He belonged to a rare club of seamers once commonplace in Pakistan cricket – a right-arm fast. Hailing from Mardan in Peshawar, Razaullah was nowhere near a selection call. His professional career in domestic cricket with Peshawar had begun only 10 months ago. But his blistering pace was not one to be missed at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

First over in international cricket.

Bowling to Test cricket’s leading run-scorer.

Gets Joe Root.

Razaullah looks unplayable.

Hope PCB manages him properly. #engvpak pic.twitter.com/341VDnqdUy

— Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) September 10, 2026

Having earned a debut just nine days after his maiden call-up, Razaullah was out in the middle after another disastrous Pakistan batting effort, bundled out for 133. Clocking over 140 kph straightaway in his opening over, it only took him three more deliveries to prise out a golden wicket. England skipper Joe Root was trapped in front after being rushed by another 143-kph scorcher. Skiddy, straight and plumb on the knee-roll.

Shortly before stumps on the opening day in Edgbaston, Razaullah speared another delivery through with his slingy arm action, breaching the defences of opener Emilio Gay.

Fast bowler from Dir to lower-order hitter, an unexpected opener and now a Test cricketer—what a wild rise for Razaullah

Capable of bowling 145+kph, he has plenty of raw pace, and coaches at NCA have recently been working with him to fine-tune his bowling pic.twitter.com/Fs96nVdqyF https://t.co/2apBP32Gcq

— Pavilion Post (@CricinsightsX) September 9, 2026

The dream start was quite close to not take flight in time.

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No passport, missed selection call

According to reports on social media, Razaullah had no passport at the time of his selection. Back in his hometown, Razaullah reportedly also missed the selectors with his phone switched off, shortly before the process for a passport and his flight out to the UK was expedited.

According to Dawn, PCB high-performance director Aaqib Javed was impressed by Razaullah after watching him train at the National Cricket Academy, pushing a call-up to a fast-bowling camp in late August. While Razaullah’s two wickets may not have quelled the looming danger of another Test defeat, the pacer’s sprightly start against England will hold among the few positives for Pakistan from an otherwise nightmarish tour.