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When the summer school holidays began in Dubai last month, Shafiq Ahmed, an experienced cricket coach at GEMS Modern Academy, traveled to Lahore, Pakistan, to spend time with his family.

Like most ordinary people, Ahmed values these precious moments in life, finding peace in the company of loved ones. However, even domestic comfort could not entirely alleviate the stress Ahmed felt watching his son Abdullah Shafique play for Pakistan internationally.

The past few years had been extremely stressful for Ahmed as he watched his son fight for runs and lose his spot in the Pakistan Test team. Ahmed, a former first-class player in Pakistan who played alongside legendary Wasim Akram, noticed Shafique's talent when he was only three years old. Even before Shafique started training under world-renowned coaches, it was his father who shaped his game; the technique of copying and the elegance of his shots were the result of Ahmed's work.

After advancing in his national cricket career, Shafique debuted in Test matches in 2021 and soon established himself as a classy opening batsman, scoring magnificent centuries against England, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Experts called him Pakistan's best batsman after Babar Azam, and Shafique was on his way to becoming a world-class player.

However, a sharp decline in form followed, and he could not regain his rhythm and confidence, leading to his exclusion from the squad in October 2025. After spending almost a year away from international cricket, 26-year-old Shafique was preparing to travel to the West Indies last month when his father, Ahmed, arrived in Lahore for the summer break.

Shafique was scheduled to participate in the T20 tournament, the Global Super League, in the West Indies. When Ahmed asked him about his plans, including the possibility of taking a break after the GSL to visit friends in the USA, the 26-year-old athlete knew what he wanted: to return to Pakistan after the GSL to prepare for the domestic cricket season and give himself another chance to regain peak form and a place in the Pakistan Test team.

What happened next became a dramatic turn of events, which Ahmed described as resembling a movie script. For someone who had been out of the Pakistan squad for nearly 10 months, Shafique received a distress signal from the national team management after Shaheen Afridi sustained a finger injury during a match against the hosts, the West Indies, which the visitors lost by a large margin.

Shafique, who was already in the Caribbean for the T20 tournament, found himself in the right place at the right time. When asked to join the team for the crucial second Test, Shafique flew to Port-of-Spain to represent his country at the highest level once again. He had not played red-ball cricket since December of last year.

But when he came out to bat at number three, an unusual position for a natural opener, after Pakistan lost an early wicket off the West Indies' first score of 333 runs, Shafique went through several tense moments against the aggressive fast bowler Shamir Joseph. The right-handed attack eventually settled down, and he began to display his full arsenal of graceful strokes. Together with captain Babar, Shafique demonstrated a masterclass in building an innings, concluding a spectacular comeback with a magnificent unbeaten 160 runs, securing Pakistan's eight-run victory.

In Lahore, his father, Ahmed, stepped away from the television, unable to bear the tension of watching his son face challenges in Test cricket. But now there was vigor in his steps, as Shafique's unexpected achievements renewed his hopes that he would become a true great figure in Pakistani cricket.

Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa highly praised 15-year-old batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Uthappa believes that Vaibhav has the potential to have an impact in limited-overs formats comparable even to Sachin Tendulkar's influence.

Uthappa noted that many young players have appeared in Indian cricket previously who attracted attention at an early age, but whose careers did not develop as expected later on. He cited Vinod Kambli and Prithvi Shaw as examples, emphasizing that proper guidance and discipline are critically important for further progress after initial success.

In an interview with Combox TV, Uthappa stated that Vaibhav is capable of making an impact in baseball cricket surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's influence, but this will depend on how his career is managed. He recalled players like Vinod Kambli and Prithvi Shaw, who were given high hopes at the age of 17-18, but whose careers subsequently declined.

Vaibhav recently debuted for the Indian national team in international cricket at a very young age. Although his start on the tour of England was modest, he demonstrated an impressive comeback during the T20 series against Zimbabwe, receiving the 'Player of the Series' award.

According to Uthappa, Vaibhav possesses exceptional talent, but his main task now is to learn how to handle the pressure that arises off the field. If he can overcome these difficulties, Indian cricket could gain another great batsman.

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc is on the verge of achieving another significant milestone in Test cricket. In the upcoming two-match series against Bangladesh, the 36-year-old could potentially surpass legendary Indian player Kapil Dev in the list of Test bowlers.

The Test series between Australia and Bangladesh is scheduled to take place starting August 13th. The first match will be held in Darwin, and the second on August 22nd in Mackay.

Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc currently has 433 wickets in 105 Test matches. Meanwhile, Kapil Dev holds the record with 434 wickets in 131 Test matches. This means that if Starc takes one wicket in this series, he will equal Kapil Dev, and if he takes two wickets, he will surpass the great Indian player and enter the top 10 bowlers in Test history.

Interest in Starc's records is not limited to Kapil Dev. Great South African fast bowler Dale Steyn has taken 439 wickets in his Test career. If Starc collects just 7 wickets in the series against Bangladesh, he can also surpass Steyn.

Despite being close to these major records, Mitchell Starc is focused on his team's performance. In an interview with the Australian Associated Press (AAP), he stated: 'It just means I have played a lot of cricket. It is an honour that my name is associated with such great players as Kapil Dev and Dale Steyn, but while you are playing, these numbers matter less. Right now, I am not thinking too much about those things.'

Mitchell Starc believes that the secret to his success lies not only in pace but also in constant self-improvement. He noted: 'When you are 36 years old and you have been playing international cricket for 16 years, you expect to have added something new to your game. I have worked a lot on the wobble seam, improved bowling length, and consistency in my game. That is why I am still effective.'

Mitchell Starc is demonstrating excellent form in the ICC World Test Championship (2025-27). He has taken 46 wickets in just 8 Test matches and is the bowler with the most wickets in the current WTC cycle. In Test cricket for Australia, Glen McGrath (563), Nathan Lyon (567), and Shaun Warner (708) have taken more wickets than Mitchell Starc. All the attention of cricket fans will be focused on Starc in the upcoming series starting August 13th; if he takes two wickets, he will surpass Kapil Dev's record and make a new leap in the list of most successful Test bowlers.