Wahab Riaz's left-arm fast medium has benefited from Pakistan's chronic poor luck with fast bowlers. With Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif missing more than they play and Umar Gul injury-prone, Riaz came into national reckoning earlier than he might have reasonably expected. His early start was promising though it came in ODIs against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh early in 2008. His first real test came against India in Bangladesh, where after 9.2 expensive overs, he was taken out of the attack for bowling two beamers. But as Pakistan misses its leading bowlers Riaz's brisk pace remains in national contention.