Shanawaz Dahani reached Sri Lanka on the same day as Pakistan got eliminated from Asia Cup.
Pakistan had come into the Sri Lanka encounter having lost the services of pacers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf to injuries.
While they replaced Naseem with Zaman Khan, Dahani was called up from Pakistan as a backup for Haris Rauf, who suffered a strain in his right plank during the India match and was rested for the rest of the games.
On September 13th, the 25-year-old posted about his departure for Colombo on his social media account and reached Sri Lanka the day Pakistan was playing the co-hosts in Colombo.
However, Pakistan couldn’t make it into the final as after being asked to bat first, the Men in Green posted 252/7 with Mohammad Rizwan (86*) and Abdullah Shafique (52) being the main scorers.
In the chase, Sri Lanka was buoyed by 91 from Kusal Mendis and brilliant knocks by Sadeera Samarawickrama (48). And then Charith Asalanka (49*) took his team past the finishing line on the last ball by 2 wickets.
As a result, Sri Lanka will now play India in the final on September 17, Sunday.
Meanwhile, Shahnawaz Dahani was trolled by fans for making a long trip for nothing and going back as soon as he came.
Here are some reactions: