Karachi: Pakistan’s young left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar lost out on a golden opportunity to make his Test debut, in the first Test against England, in Abu Dhabi, on Monday night.

According to sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the logistics department had managed to get the visa and security clearance for Gohar to depart immediately for Abu Dhabi around Monday midnight.

“But we kept on trying to call him to go straight to the airport to catch an available flight, where a board official would have handed him the travel documents. But he didn’t take the call,” the source said.

“Later we found out that he had fallen asleep and couldn’t attend calls,” he added.

“Everything was complete by midnight and we planned to have him in Abu Dhabi early morning to be available for selection, if necessary, for the first Test,” the source stated.

Gohar, who recently played for Pakistan A against England in the two side matches in Sharjah and took five wickets, was named as a reinforcement for leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who was ruled out of the Test after suffering from back spasm during nets on Monday.

With just one specialist spinner Zulfiqar Babar in the Pakistan squad, Gohar had strong chances of making his Test debut on a slow, low bounced and turning pitch prepared for the first match.

“It is unfortunate he missed out on an opportunity of a lifetime. Anyone in his place would have stayed awake, excited by the prospect of getting a chance to play for the national team,” the source said.

Another young leg-spinner Shahzaib Ahmed of Karachi also lost out on a chance to play Test cricket as he didn’t have a visa for Abu Dhabi.