He was made to wait an extra day, but Saqib Khan can afford to wait. He is an unusual fast bowling debutant for Pakistan in that he's not especially fast, or especially young. He has made his international debut at 31, so perhaps yesterday's toil, when Pakistan laboured the entire day with a solitary wicket to show for it, did not jade him. Saqib has arrived in the Pakistan side pre-jaded.
But that isn't all which makes Saqib's foray into international cricket uncommon. His presence in the side feels more like a sudden intrusion than any sort of permanent arrangement, like a man who has suddenly moved to a new city and briefly needs a place to stay. He won't be there long, but if he's nice company, it's a pleasant surprise. And Saqib was especially nice company today.
The benign nature of Pakistan's bowling performance yesterday was perhaps highlighted by Saqib more than anyone else. Abbas, after all, was his metronomic self, a mile above his counterparts. Razaullah came through the more established Pakistan pathway of express pace, charming youth, great hair, recency bias and sheer dumb luck, as if someone had trodden over a diamond in the rough and slipped into their pocket like a treasured find. Of course he was going to be inexpensive and ill-disciplined. Saqib's journey did not inoculate him from similar scrutiny.
Three years ago, a then 28-year-old Saqib had never played a first-class match, playing almost exclusively tape-ball cricket. While he finished as the highest wicket-taker among seamers for Karachi Blues in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy last year, it was only his second full season. When Pakistan's famous mid-series reshuffle saw them ship seven players to England, most of them relatively little-known, Saqib didn't get a sniff in. Until less than two days from the start of the first Test, he wasn't even named in Pakistan's squad, a stellar performance in a tour match against Sri Lanka the most decisive factor influencing his inclusion. It was a heck of a leap of faith, and yesterday, you could almost hear the rasping sound of knives being sharpened in opposition to it.
However, his lack of extended exposure to Pakistan's first-class circuit might also have worked in his favour. Saqib described his time in domestic cricket as "hard" and "a struggle", and for a lot of players it has functioned as a spirit breaker rather than talent polisher. Add another decade in that system, and Saqib may have gone in last night after what he himself described as a "bohot bura din" [terrible day], believing his chance had been blown.
Instead, he listened to Mike Hesson, who told him to put it out of his mind and focus on hitting a probing off-stump line more consistently to exploit sideways movement. He woke up in the middle of the night and prayed for success. This was a man who believed his situation was not unsalvageable.
It took just five balls this morning for that advice, hope and prayer to be answered. The first positive signs had come from the heavens, with Rawalpindi especially overcast, offering the promise of extra swing, if only Saqib could hone it. He landed the fifth pitch-perfect on fourth stump, tailing in before it moved away from Dhananjaya de Silva. Pakistan had toiled for 241 balls yesterday and failed to dislodge de Silva. Today, just the fifth had broken Sri Lanka's 249-run stand - their second-highest ever for the fifth wicket.
The forecast had promised rain all day today, but as Saqib found himself on fire, the clouds refrained from quenching it. He found the edge of Kusal Mendis, de Silva's partner through Pakistan's day-three torment, only for Saud Shakeel to shell it. Shakeel had also put down de Silva on the third morning on 38; the Sri Lankan had gone on to add another 129. This, Saqib was adamant, was a new day.
Two balls later, he found that perfect length Hesson had talked about. The ball was swinging prodigiously for him, and Mendis poked with the uncertainty of a new batter rather than one facing his 202nd delivery. It caught the edge and went into the same area, but this time Ghazi Ghori, who had his own impressive day behind the stumps, dived in front of Shakeel at first slip to do the job himself.
The conditions were helping Saqib, but no other bowler - not even Abbas - found such success. Within minutes, Saqib had his fifth and was ripping through Sri Lanka's tail. That, in itself, is not to be scoffed at either; Pakistan have conceded more runs to lower orders than almost every other side over the past two years.
There is no indication of what this means for the future, if the future is even a concept in current circumstances at Pakistan cricket. This might be a bright start after an unconventional journey for Saqib, but he could just as easily join the cast of yesterday's men within Pakistan fast bowling, vaguely remembered as having once - briefly - played some Test cricket. At least, if Saqib has indeed popped in for a quick visit, he's done his best to ensure it won't be forgotten easily.