Pakistan batter Abid Ali is set to make a return to competitive cricket four months after undergoing angioplasty. Back in December 2021, the right-handed batter complained of chest and shoulder pain while playing for Central Punjab in their Quaid-e-Azam game against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the UBL Sports Complex in Karachi.

The 34-year-old was later diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). After he scored a half-century, Abid was taken to the hospital and, since then, he has been consulting a cardiologist. Recently, he got a green signal to take part in a local T20 tournament in Faisalabad.

Back in March, he started practising at the High Performance Centre in Lahore and was allowed to play after he underwent a number of tests. While talking about the tough times over the last few months, the veteran also sounded confident about making a comeback for Pakistan.

Stopped thinking about cricket

“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 living 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,” Abid told ESPNcricinfo.

“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,” he added.

Abid Ali last played international cricket back during the two-match Test series in Bangladesh. The opening batter became the Player of the Series after scoring 263 runs at an average of 87.66. After making his Test debut against Sri Lanka back in December 2019, Abid has notched 1180 runs from 16 games at an average of 49.16 with four centuries and three half-centuries to his name.