Pakistan’s Abid Ali Cleared For Return To International Cricket After Health Scare

Pakistan opener Abid Ali has been cleared by doctors for return to active international cricket including playing for Pakistan once more. This comes after he suffered a heart attack while playing a domestic game four months ago and underwent an emergency procedure.

During a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match, Abid Ali complained of chest pain while batting and was diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and had to undergo angioplasty. Abid had been on conservative cardiac rehabilitation since December last year and was allowed to play a local T20 tournament in Faisalabad recently.

“I am really excited to be back with the prospect of playing for Pakistan again. Doctors cleared me to go back in the field and I can finally return to live a normal life. I will be on medicines for some time because of the stents implanted but overall, physically, I am feeling great.

“I am diving, running, jogging, batting and it’s really great to be normal again. There were doubts if I could play again with a heart condition but I didn’t lose hope.

“I stopped thinking about cricket for some time and focused on regaining a healthy life first. It was tough but the recovery has been great with all the extensive rehabilitation,” Abid told ESPNCricinfo.

Ali has played 16 Tests and 6 ODIs for Pakistan till now having made his debut in 2019. He remains the only batter in international cricket to have made a century each on debut in both ODI and Test cricket.

I Am Not Sure What Is The Status Of My National Selection: Abid Ali

While Ali was dealing with his health issues, Pakistan rejigged their opening combination, in Tests by promoting Imam-ul-Haq to partner Abdullah Shafiq, with Shan Masood as the third opening option. The next Test series for the Men in Green will be against Sri Lanka in July-August and it’s too early to say if the selectors will consider Abid for that.

“I am not sure what is the status of my national selection right now but I am fully set for my comeback. PCB has been of great help throughout, taking very good care of me.

“I am thankful for their support and guidance. For now, I started with the shorter format by playing three-four games in the Ramzan tournament in Faisalabad and it went well,” Abid said.

“These two games have given me confidence to revive my cricketing career. This is just the start and I am working hard on my fitness to stay in contention for selection. I had a good last series scoring good runs (against Bangladesh) and was in good nick when I fell in Karachi (with chest pain).

“I need to work very hard to catch up on the lost time and I am quite hopeful that I will be able to achieve that. I still have a lot of cricket left in me and I don’t want to sit back. Cricket has been my life,” he added.

Abid, 34, was the highest run-scorer in Tests for Pakistan until December since his debut in 2019, and in 2021 he was sixth in the world with 695 runs in nine Tests at 49.64, including a double-hundred against Zimbabwe in Harare.

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