Yasir Shah

Shah made his Test debut against Australia, who toured to the UAE in 2014. He was picked in place of Saeed Ajmal, who was banned for an illegal bowling action. In the first Test, he picked up 7 for 116 with Steve Smith becoming his first wicket. He helped the team to win the match by 221 runs. In the second Test, he picked 5 for 91 which resulted a 356-run win for Pakistan and a whitewash for Australia. He picked 12 for 207 overall and was the second highest wicket-taker of that series.

In June 2015, while on tour against Sri Lanka, Shah became the fastest Pakistani bowler to take 50 Test wickets, which he did in just nine matches. The record for Pakistan in Test cricket was previously held by Waqar Younis, Mohammad Asif and Shabbir Ahmed, all of whom took 50 wickets in ten matches. However, the fastest bowler to take 50 wickets in Test cricket is Charles Turner of Australia, who accomplished the feat in only six matches.[12] Shah then picked up 3 consecutive five-wicket hauls in three Tests against Sri Lanka, further improving his Test record.[13] For his performances in 2015, he was named in the World Test XI by ICC.[14] He was also named in the Test XI of the year 2015 by Cricinfo [15]

In July 2016, while on tour against England, Shah became the first leg spinner to take a five-wicket haul in a Test innings at Lord's since Mushtaq Ahmed in 1996.[16][17] and 10 wickets in the whole match. He also became the highest wicket-taking bowler in a single match from any Asian side at Lord's.[18][19]

On 18 July 2016, Shah reached No. 1 in the ICC rankings for Test bowlers, becoming the first Pakistani bowler to do since Ahmed in December 1996.[20] He displaced English quick Jimmy Anderson from the No. 1 spot and is the first leg spinner since Warne in 2005 to be ranked No. 1. However, following his poor performance in the second Test eight days later, he dropped four places to number five.[21]

Shah had 86 wickets to his name at the end of his 13th Test match and, after 15, the total was 90. Both these totals are world records for any bowler after their 13th and 15th Test match respectively.

In his 17th Test match against West Indies in Dubai, Shah took his 100th Test wicket and became the second fastest[22] ever to achieve this milestone, with only George Lohmann bettering it. He is fastest Pakistani to take 50 and 100 wickets in Tests. On 28 September 2017, during the first Test against Sri Lanka, he became the joint-second fastest bowler of all time and quickest spinner to take 150 wickets in Tests.[23][24]

In November 2018, in the second Test against New Zealand, Shah took fourteen wickets in the match. In the first innings, he took eight wickets for 41 runs, the best for any bowler against New Zealand in a Test match.[25] On the same day, he took a total of ten wickets to become the first bowler for Pakistan and, only the second bowler overall, to take ten wickets in a single day of Test match cricket.[26] His match figures of 14/184 are currently the best by a Pakistani spin bowler in Tests,[27] the second-best figures by any bowler for Pakistan in Tests[28] and the most wickets by a single bowler against New Zealand in a Test match.[29]

In December 2018, during the same series against New Zealand, Shah took his 200th wicket in Test cricket. He became the fastest bowler, in terms of matches played, to take 200 wickets in Tests, doing so in his 33rd match.[30]

In November 2019, during the series against Australia, Yasir Shah set a record for becoming the first ever bowler to concede 200 runs in an innings of a Test match on three occasions.[31][32] During the same series, he also scored his first century in Test cricket.[33]

In the series against Bangladesh he took 4–58 in the 2nd innings of the first test.[34]

In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic.[35][36] In July, he was shortlisted in Pakistan's 20-man squad for the Test matches against England.[37][38]

In November 2020, Shah was nominated for the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Decade award.[39][40]

In January 2021, he was named in Pakistan's Test squad for their series against South Africa.[41][42]