Tabish harbours ageing dream of national call-up

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KARACHI
While some fresh-faced teens are lucky enough to be called for national duty with just a handful of matches under their belt, at the opposite end of the spectrum are veterans such as Tabish Khan, who has never been given the chance to represent Pakistan, despite a massive career haul of 565 first-class wickets to his name at an average of 23.56.
Tabish, now 34, has been active in the domestic circuit since 2002-3 season — a career span of almost two decades. On Tuesday, he bagged another five-wicket haul, the 37th of his glittering first-class cricket career as he took 5-85 against Central Punjab for Sindh at the National Stadium in Karachi during a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match. The five-fers keep on coming match by match, and season by season but the call from the national selectors does not.
“I am waiting to see Pakistan’s star shine on my chest,” Tabish told Geo News.
“There’s nothing better than that. Even thinking about wearing the green shirt makes me feel so excited,” he replied when asked how important it is for him to play Test cricket for Pakistan.
Tabish made his best case during the 2009-10 season when he took 95 wickets. However, all it earned him was a call-up for the Pakistan A team’s tour to Sri Lanka where he was given just a single match.
The next Pakistan A selection — coincidentally for another tour of Sri Lanka — would take five long years and many more wicket-laden seasons.